benefit of those affected. while this has meant that the examination has taken longer than expected, the results are now becoming evident in terms of the numbers of people identified as affected and the scale of redress and compensation being paid. in tandem with our supervisory work, enforcement work is ongoing. enforcement four enforcement investigations are currently under way, and we expect that all of the main lenders will face enforcement investigations. enforcement investigations are detailed and forensic, and routinely involve the scrutiny of thousands of documents and the conduct of interviews as part of the investigative process, to establish the exact circumstances of matters under investigation. in our enforcement investigations, the central bank will consider all possible angles, including potential individual culpability. while we are investigating, it is also important to remember that the board members and senior personnel of lenders have significant legal obligations to report potential regulatory breaches to the central bank and to report certain potential criminal offences to an garda siochana under the criminal justice act 2011. in that context, we are writing to the board members and senior personnel requiring signed confirmation from them that they are aware of their legal obligations. culture within lenders the central bank ’ s consumer protection code requires that lenders act in the best interests of their customers. while many lenders publicly state that they put customers first, evidence from the examination firmly suggests otherwise. the examination has exposed the manner in which certain lenders have treated their customers and the degree of regulatory force required to make them rectify such behaviour. it is clear that significant behavioural and cultural issues and challenges in some of the lenders still exist and that customer interests have not been sufficiently protected or prioritised. the minister for finance has mandated the central bank to report on the issue of behaviour and culture within lenders later this year. we are currently completing our scoping work and the next step is to commence on - site assessments, which will include engagement within each of the lenders at senior management, middle management and staff levels to probe behaviour and cultural issues within lenders. it is important to note that culture is about more than behaviour. a partial list includes prioritising 3 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches the best interests of customers, offering responsible products, reviewing board effectiveness, committing to diversity and inclusion and having robust internal audit and risk management procedures. a defining cultural test is how a firm deals with adverse situations : does it make sure that the best interests of customers are protected, even if this damages short - term profitability?

. last month, we published a progress report provided to the minister for finance. today, we can provide a further update to the committee based on end - december information. the end - 2017 figures show that lenders have been forced to pay €316 million in redress and compensation. more will follow, as the remainder of the 33, 700 customers that were denied tracker products or charged the wrong rates receive redress and compensation and as claims submitted to the independent appeals processes are adjudicated2. when we last appeared before you, we outlined the phased structure of the examination and that lenders had submitted their phase 2 reports. we made clear we regarded certain reports to be 1 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches deficient. in particular, we said that certain lenders had left out groups of customers whom, in our view, had been affected by their failures and were therefore entitled to redress and compensation. we emphasised that we would robustly challenge any such deficiency as we moved through our assurance work. in that work, we scrutinised lenders ’ reports, undertook on - site inspections, hauled in lenders ’ senior management and impressed on them the need to take a consumer - focused approach in complying with the examination. the result of this intensive engagement is that the issues around the inclusion of disputed groups of customers identified to that point have now been resolved to the satisfaction of the central bank. as a result of our challenge, there has been a large increase in the numbers of customers between october last and today who will be included in redress and compensation schemes – a further 13, 600 customers. in short, the examination is delivering for consumers. i wish to acknowledge the work of this committee and the minister of finance & public expenditure and reform in shining the public spotlight on those lenders involved in the examination, adding to the sustained pressure we have exerted on the lenders since the outset. like any regulator, the central bank is limited by law in the amount of information we can publicly disclose about any regulated financial institution. much of the pressure we exert on lenders in order to protect consumers must necessarily be done in private until outcomes are final and announced. of the initial group of 13, 000 customers accepted by lenders up to end - september last, 74 % have now received their redress and compensation. the majority of the outstanding customers will receive theirs between now and end - march, with the remainder receiving payment by endjune. €181