Mr. Michael Torpey:

Deputy, your question is rooted in the report from ... or the letter and schedule from the Financial Regulator to Ulster Bank in 2006. It would be a matter of, I suppose, concern that the nature of the engagement by the Financial Regulator with the institution was one where the regulator will, as in this case, have conducted an inspection, will have chosen not to engage with queries as to detail on the ground in the inspection and will have written their observations. An effect of that, Deputy, is that the regulator will not necessarily have been fully appraised of the position, will not have got the simple answers to questions, until such time as he wrote and got the response.

To the specific content of your inquiry, was there reporting of lending, was there reporting of exceptions and was there challenge to exceptions by the board of Ulster Bank Ireland Limited, yes, there was and there was on a continuing basis through my period working with Ulster Bank. So I am entirely satisfied that we were operating in a highly controlled environment, that there was appropriate challenge, there were policies in place, in particular in relation to the residential lending, which is the point of your reference here; that where there were exceptions and, policies being as they are, there was a tolerance for a level of exceptions just as there is now under the regulatory guidelines, or regulatory rules on mortgage lending, that there was a challenge to those exceptions, that exceptions were addressed by management to establish that the lending was of a character and quality that fell within the risk appetite of the group. So, I am fully satisfied that the controls were in place.