I wish to highlight, as Minister for Finance, I am precluded from intervening in commercial and operational decisions in any particular bank, even one in which the State has a shareholding. Decisions in this regard, including this potential transaction, are the sole responsibility of the board and management of the banks, which must be run on an independent and commercial basis. The bank's independence is protected by a Relationship Framework which is a legally binding document that cannot be changed unilaterally. This framework, which is publicly available, was insisted upon by the European Commission to protect competition in the Irish market.
Notwithstanding the above, Department of Finance officials contacted AIB in relation to this matter and received the following response:
"AIB Group announced last month that it is has entered into exclusive discussions with NatWest Group plc for the acquisition of the Ulster Bank performing tracker mortgages portfolio. Any potential transaction remains subject to negotiations and agreement and the Bank cannot comment any further at this point."
The successful conclusion of this transaction by AIB would be very positive in providing a significant number of Ulster Bank customers with certainty as to the destination of their mortgages. I am hopeful that these discussions will lead to a successful outcome, however, I do appreciate that the conclusion of this transaction is subject to normal due diligence, agreement of final terms, as well as obtaining appropriate approvals.
