Mr. Brian Cowen:

No examples of it crossed my desk that I am aware of but I do think yes, that there is no doubt that the macro-prudential responsibility trumps a micro-prudential responsibility any day of the week. If it is a case that the Central Bank Governor feels that the problem in a specific bank could have wider ramifications or is the first of a trend of issues that may arise in other institutions, in other words it becomes a financial stability issue more quickly than being regarded as an isolated case, that requires a level of communication between them that is very full. So I think that the Central Bank Governor had that reserve power but obviously, based on the information that was coming through on the individual interface with institutions, it didn't seem to be a concern that a directive from him was required. He trusted the information he was getting.