Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Boucher, Mr. Farrell and Mr McLoughlin. As my time is limited, I can only cover some of the key issues. I want to continue with the issue the Chairman raised, in particular about the pricing strategy for standard variable rate mortgages. The bank is currently charging in the region of 4.5% for a new mortgage if the loan-to-value is over 80%. How can Mr. Boucher justify that when his stated cost of funds is 1.15%, which have come down by about 30% in the past 12 to 18 months? The bank's margin has increased very substantially. Most people would regard a variable rate product as one where if the market conditions are bad, the rate is going to go up, but when the market conditions are good, people expect the variable rate to come down, but that has not happened. When was the last standard variable rate reduction by Bank of Ireland in respect of mortgage products?