Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 103: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will consider an alternative bank recapitalisation strategy involving the reversal of the National Asset Management Agency, temporary nationalisation of both pillar banks, together with negotiating substantial creditor write-downs on loan amounts owing by the banks to the ECB and senior bondholders to reflect the losses of at least €70 billion incurred by the six Irish banks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19697/11]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware that the Minister is pursuing a strategy which has been well exposed and fully communicated, involving a significant downsizing of the Government supported banking sector and the creation of two Government supported universal domestic pillar banks. With the exception of the merged Anglo Irish Bank and INBS where the matter remains open, burden sharing with the senior bondholders of the banks does not form part of this strategy. It is the Minister's firm opinion that this was and remains the optimum strategy not least because it guarantees the continued funding of the banking system and the supply of at least €30 billion of lending into the domestic economy until 2013, despite the deleveraging of non-core banking assets.

The Deputy will be aware that in the previous three months, very considerable progress has already been made in the implementation of this strategy in many cases significantly in advance of the originally anticipated deadlines.

· The legal mergers of Allied Irish Banks with the EBS Building Society, and of Anglo Irish Bank with INBS have been completed well ahead of the scheduled delivery dates of September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2011, respectively.

· The proposed name change of the merged Anglo Irish Bank has been announced to Irish Bank Resolution Company and a number of the foreign branches are being closed.

· The merged Anglo Irish Bank has already commenced the process of selling $10 billion of US property lending assets. · All on-going banks have split into core and non-core management teams and identified non-core assets for disposal.

· €4.4billion of burden sharing has already been secured.

· As a result of the successful liability management debt for equity exercise in Bank of Ireland, a continuing free float element of circa 30% has been ensured. The State's obligation to buy shares in this bank may decrease even further depending on both the outcome of the current rights offering and ongoing discussions with private equity.

· Information Memoranda in respect of the sale of Irish Life have already been circulated to interested parties in advance of the Troika deadline of October 2011.