Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I do not find Mr. Boucher's argument about pricing policy convincing. He was the one who drew the comparison with the UK market, calling it remarkably similar to Ireland's. He stated that the average rate Bank of Ireland charged in the UK was approximately 4%. However, the offering it makes to new customers in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK is remarkably competitive and strikingly different from the offering it makes in the Republic. Mr. Boucher has cited a rate of 4.5% at a time when its cost of funding is probably 1% or so. That is a remarkable margin to charge for variable rate products. I am not just referring to mortgages but also to personal loans for which Bank of Ireland charges approximately 12%, to credit cards for which it charges 20% or so and to loans to small to medium-sized enterprises, SMEs, which are paying way over the odds.