Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I disagree with Deputy Gilmore in respect of this. The question of the health of a bank is not dictated solely by its price in the equity markets. Every bank in the world has seen its share price reduce considerably, and it has been very considerable in Ireland. I accept that. That is because of some of the exposures that the market perceives.

However, that is not the point. The important issue concerns bank capital and to what extent is it capable of providing an adequate ratio in respect of future impaired loans that may arise. The market perception of a bank or financial institution is that it would like to see it operating above the regulatory standards. It is in that context — to deal with that market perception — that we have brought forward a general policy statement on recapitalisation.

We will deal with each recapitalisation when we see the proposals. Some banks have suggested they do not have any requirement for recapitalisation.

See this speech in context