Rates on “nonspecial” term deposits have tended to move up closer to the specials, and margins on at-call deposits have moved in the same direction, though by a lesser amount. So, clearly the intensity of competition has stepped up. This has been a consequence of two factors associated broadly with the crisis and with the post-crisis environment.
First, the crisis has focused the attention of investors, regulators, rating agencies and, not least, the banks themselves, on the need for stable sources of funding. What constitutes stable funding is, of course, a good question.