Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister for Finance will be speaking on this matter later today. The Deputy will be aware that it is already the law that loans can only be sold on to a company that is regulated or has an agent that is regulated. We are considering whether we need to amend the law to strengthen regulation in this area. Under the relationship framework that exists between the commercial banks and the Government, it is illegal for the Minister for Finance to make directions to the bank on commercial matters. That is there as a protection - with the agreement of the European Commission - for very good reasons. We need our banks to operate on a commercial basis. That is how we protect people's deposits. I ask the Deputy to bear in mind that this bank has 1 million customers and €17 billion on deposit

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