IRES 'an the reoa nut to mmrent has been very ciear that ERE's rate was to pratect the bank's position. where passibl'e by working with distressed businesses to return them ta ?nanciai heaith. in the aftermath of the financiai crisis we did not aiwavs meet our own high standards and we I'et some ojIr our customers dawn- ?We have aiready acknowiedged that. in some areas. we caaid, and shaaid, have dane better far customers. Speci?'cail'y. we caaid have managed the transition to EFF-E better and we caaid have hetter enpiained to customers any changes ta the prices or fees we were charging. 'We aim did nat aiwavs handie customer campiaints weii. As a resul't. a number at our customers did not receive the ie1-?eiafservicethevshouid have done or. in'IpartantiJr, that they wouid receive now.? ?it is important to remember the context of the time anaI the impact of the ?nanciai crisis. in EMS there was an unprecedented increase in Stuffs into JI'inancianI distress and the numbers n1aving inta ERE increased by aver Wit-?; shouI'd have caped better but. nevertheiess. between ED11- E?li'. ERE advanced aver EIDIEI n1il'iian at new tending to EMEs anaI successfuiiv restructured thousands afSMEs. in doing so it safeguarded tens at thousands ajl'jobs. ?These were incredihiv dih?icuit times for the bank and the wider econon1].r. HES iost more than ?hnfrom iending to EMF customers. The bank i?eif was in a precarious position anaI required extensive Eovernmentsuppart. ?Since that time, REE has hecan'le a di?erent hank and signi?cant stractaraI' and cuiturai changes have been put in piace. incI'uding in how we deai with customers in financiai distress. We continue to iearn the I'essans at the past anal seek to da betterfar aar customers. H55 is afundamental'iy different institution tadav as a resuit. ?Despite a numher of investigations that invoived a detailed review at aI'.l the evidence, inciuding reviewing miil'ions of pages at dacumen ts. we have seen nothing to support the al'iegations that the hank art?'iciaiiy distressed atherwise viahie SME husinesses or deiiberateiy caused them to faii. in regard to the wider al'iegations raised. we have found no evidence that the bank either inapprapriateiv targeted such businesses to transfer them ta ERE ar drove them to insoivencv. Nor did it hug their asset at a iawer than marketprice. ?The review of the treatment of EME customers in ERE remains ongoing. it wouid not be appropriate to camn1ent further on that review untii the FICA has puhiished its canciusians.?