Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome Mr. Byrne and his colleagues and thank them for the information provided to the committee in advance, including the detailed questionnaire and the opening statement. Much ground such as the wider background and so on has been covered in the opening statement. I will focus on a few micro issues to start with, if I may. I welcome the recent mortgage rate reduction announcement by AIB and that it applies to all customers, both new and existing. That is an important point. AIB bank does not offer cashback in respect of mortgages although EBS does. I will address that issue in a moment. Many EBS customers have contacted committee members to say they feel very aggrieved that once again an interest rate cut announced by AIB does not apply to them. Mr. Byrne might explain the status of EBS as a separate entity that is also within the AIB group and explain its mortgage pricing policy because its existing customers feel very hard done by that they do not benefit from the 2% cashback which is offered to new customers of EBS and strongly believe - I support them in this regard - that they pay a higher interest rate than they ought in order to finance the cashback offer.