Mr. Liam McLoughlin:

Initially, the bank will assess every case for a mortgage on a case-by-case basis. We would certainly recognise a dynamic in the marketplace where, let us say, rather than a job for life of 30 or 40 years in the same employment, it has moved much more towards, certainly among younger people, tending to work for shorter spells, as low as two or three years, with an employer and then move on. We are updating our own underwriting assessments to reflect that change in behaviours. It has become more common to have temporary contracts or contract periods as opposed to jobs for life and we recognise that. I would not say it is more difficult but certainly, it is an evolving social behaviour that we are building into our own underwriting.

We would see nowadays the fact that an employee moves from different employment as in many ways a strength. It is giving him or her greater job experience and breadth and therefore has its strengths. It is something we are building and enhancing our own underwriting to reflect.