The chief executive of Educational Building Society, now part of AIB, has said the banks may require greater flexibility to complete the deleveraging of €73 billion of excess assets and other loans by the end of 2013 deadline.

Fergus Murphy, who is also chairman of Financial Services Ireland, told the organisation’s annual dinner last night that “it may be necessary for some more innovation to be brought to the deleverage plan”.

This could involve structured finance or off-balance sheet structures to complete the deleveraging.

“The deleveraging plan went well in 2011. Obviously the headwinds are against us in 2012 with what is happening in Europe in terms of sovereign risk and bank recaps around Europe,” he said.