Graph 2  Graph 3  4  BIS Review 39/2010  In a further response to the competition from the wholesale lenders, in the early 2000s, banks began increasing the discount offered on the standard mortgage rate to new borrowers.
This enabled banks to slow the repricing of their loan books because only new or refinancing borrowers benefited from the discounts, whereas changes to their standard variable rate immediately flowed through to all borrowers.