The question of how best to deal with the issues arising from combining the functions of prudential regulation and consumer protection were dealt with comprehensively in the report of the McDowell group. A number of options were examined to see how best each of them would work. The group examined the issue of protecting the interests of clients of financial institutions at two levels, first, the level of the protection of consumers' interests in the context of the solvency of regulated entities and, second, at the level of the individual consumer in his or her banker-creditor relationship, or his or her relationship with a particular financial institution. The relationship between these levels was looked at particularly from the point of view of the obligations imposed under EU law, in relation to the prohibition on disclosure of information to the relevant authorities on issues for which it has no statutory function.