Eoghan Murphy (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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Question 57: To ask the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the fact that an Irish credit union, the EBS, was offering its customers a protected growth bond, which in a letter guaranteed the customer would get their full investment returned after four years plus a 14% fixed return, however in the terms and condition at the bottom of the letter it stated that Irish Life and Permanent would not make up any shortfall, so in fact the EBS might not be in a position to return a person's full original investment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36766/11]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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EBS is a wholly owned subsidiary of AIB and as the Deputy will be aware, notwithstanding the fact that the State is a 99.8% shareholder in AIB, the bank is run on a commercial arms length basis. The Government does not interfere in the day to day commercial decisions taken by the board and management of the bank including its product offerings. The matter referred to in the Deputy's question would clearly fall into this category and I have no direct function in the matter. The Central Bank of Ireland has a role in ensuring that the best interests of consumers of financial services are protected. The Central Bank of Ireland's Consumer Protection Code stipulates the general principles that regulated entities must adhere to in all dealings with customers or potential customers. A copy of the Code can be sourced on the Central Bank's website at the following link: http://www.centralbank.ie/consumer/info/Pages/default.aspx