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

In regard to the mortgage market, Bank of Ireland's core offering is centred on fixed rates and cashbacks. In the table of rates provided, the lowest rate offered by Bank of Ireland is 3%, fixed across a number of loan-to-value bands for between one and five years. In the past few days, Ulster Bank has announced a new, two-year fixed rate of 2.3%, which is 70 basis points lower than Bank of Ireland's cheapest rate. Even taking account of the cashback offering, can Bank of Ireland afford not to respond to what appears to be a significant move by one of the bank's competitors in the mortgage market?