Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I welcome Mr. Brown and his colleagues to the committee. I too was disappointed that of the 42 questions in the questionnaire, eight were effectively not replied to. I understand that the Irish taxpayer has not put money into Ulster Bank, unlike the other three banks, two of which have appeared before the committee to date. Nevertheless, Ulster Bank is regulated by the Central Bank. There are key questions such as the cost of funds, which would give us some indication of how the mortgage rate discharged to consumers is based on the cost of funds. People are entitled to know the cost of funds. No breakdown has been given of the profile of mortgage lending in terms of fixed-rate, variable rate and tracker mortgages. We have no indication of the bank's net interest margin, which the other banks have given to us. Would Mr. Brown consider, on mature reflection, providing the committee with the average cost of borrowing and the blended cost of borrowing, the breakdown of fixed-rate, tracker and variable rate mortgages and the net interest margin, so that we can get a view on it?

I understand the view that there is a lack of competition in the mortgage market in the Republic of Ireland. Mr. Brown said that most of Ulster Bank's new mortgage business this year would not have met the new restrictions proposed by the Central Bank, including the requirement for a 20% deposit, yet he states that Ulster Bank is the only bank with a structured presence in the North and in the South. We see a difference in the mortgage rates if the loan-to-value ratio is less than 60%: the rate in the Republic, at 3.9%, is two percentage points higher than the rate in Northern Ireland, at 1.89%. The bank is reacting to the market. I would appreciate if Mr. Brown would deal with these questions: first, the cost of borrowing; second, the breakdown between fixed-rate, variable rate and tracker mortgages; and third, the net interest margin.