phase of this exercise, as is well known, involved the implementation of nama. this allowed the transfer of hard to value and poorly performing commercial property assets out of the banking system to improve the balance sheet strength of the irish banks. the second phase of this exercise, which is now well progressed, has involved the identification and disposal of so - called non - core portfolios. this has less to do with cleaning out poor quality assets – although there are some in this category – but rather reducing leverage in the balance sheet and reliance on central bank funding, by rightsizing the banks ’ balance sheets to a sensible proportion relative to their on - going ability to fund themselves. progress in the disposal of non - core assets has been impressive, with most banks hitting or exceeding their targets and doing so at a lower cost to capital, by achieving better prices, than had been budgeted in our stress test exercise. the environment for asset disposals has, however, been getting more difficult, as the eurozone crisis has widened and the imperative to deleverage has touched other banks as well. the remaining challenge, then, in this space is to make sure that the asset disposal process remains on track and is concluded successfully. however, the irish authorities have been keen to emphasise that this process should not be at the expense of fire sale prices, so the current market environment may provide a constraint on the ability to reach the endpoint to a predefined schedule. should that be the end of balance sheet restructuring? one area of debate is whether it is advisable to undertake a third phase of restructuring involving a select number of banks and certain portions of their core portfolios. the objective here would be to trim back the core balance sheets by identifying poor performing or hard to value mortgage assets for transfer out of the banking system. however, important technical issues remain to be solved regarding the suitable vehicle for these assets, and how that would be funded. in short, there may be an opportunity for a new phase of balance sheet restructuring to provide a further strengthening of the banking system – but this is not yet assured. profitability the profitability challenge should, i hope, be obvious. it is important that the banks regain profitability in their core businesses so that they can stand on their own feet and no longer bis central bankers ’ speeches rely on taxpayer support. in post - crisis ireland, where it often seems that regard for the banks among the general public is at an all - time low, the

that this first report will play an important role in bringing a greater level of transparency to the market, and providing data to support evidence based decision - making. better data on insurance claims can inform the policy debates in government, in the oireachtas, in the firms and in wider society as well as informing our own work in the central bank. and now coming back to where we started, on household finances and the need for data, i want to finish with some thoughts and challenges for the network going forward. the hfcs is uniquely positioned to answer questions that will shape policy going forward. issues such as demographics and how they affect our macro models will benefit from micro foundations ( lane, 2019 ). also the role of financial innovation and households, the rise of non - bank finance, the disruption of traditional banking services by technology based service providers is well under way. how will these changes affect households, affect our economy, and our policy? and of course beyond data, we also need to push the boundaries in how we analyse, how we model and estimate. this includes using behavioural economics, which provides insights on how people actually make decisions in the real world, and the factors that affect those decisions, to gain new perspectives on a diverse range of topics such as mortgage switching or differential pricing for example. by constantly developing our analytical approach we can gain greater insight and understanding of the world around us. but more detail on that is for another day. let us continue with the excellent research and analysis we see already. but we must always be on the lookout for new areas and challenges where our resources, our skills and our knowledge can contribute – in short, where better data can make better policy. [ 1 ] i would like to thank my central bank colleagues who contributed to my remarks across the range of topics. leblanc, j., & lydon. r., 2019 “ indebtedness and spending : what happens when the music stops? ”, central bank of ireland, research technical paper, vol 2019 no. 14. ibid, page 30. ibid, page 3. as of 2019q2, per capita consumer spending was 3 per cent below pre - recession levels ( 2007q2 ). central statistics office, 2019. quarterly national accounts, quarter 2 2019, ( table 3, personal consumption of goods and services ) central bank of ireland, 2019. quarterly financial accounts, q1 2019 moll, b., 2017. “ distributional