Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 6 May 2015

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis

Nexus Phase

Mr. Richie Boucher:

It was ... it's an absolutely true statement that the lending hadn't been seasoned, that there hadn't been sufficient experience of what would happen in a downturn. The models were tested for interest rates. So when we did a lending, we did a test for an interest rate assumption for ... income assumption. The buy-to-let book, which is what we now call it ... I think, as I've disclosed, is performing slightly better. But, in fact, I think the decision to move to more professional landlords who were connected, in particular, with the construction industry was the biggest exposure we had in that buy-to-let book and I've said that to the market.