Still, it is reasonable to ask whether, having under-priced lending so badly in the early years of the millennium, they could end up over-pricing it now. Ireland is not the only country to have been experiencing widening spreads. In the UK too they have moved up since the crisis and, for mortgages, are about as high as here.
Spain and Italy are other large countries where spreads on small loans, including business loans widened appreciably following the crisis, though with some reversal more recently (Figure 3). 4  BIS central bankers’ speeches  So, should there be a ceiling on interest spreads?