Clearly, the entry of mortgage originators into the housing market was a very important development, and it led to the margin on housing lending falling from a level which was high by international standards to one which is about average. We are now beginning to see hotter competition in lending to small and medium-sized businesses.
Partly this is a result of the need felt by many banks, particularly the regional ones, to reduce their reliance on the now much less profitable mortgage market. In this sense, it shows how competition slowly works its way through the system. I confess that it has taken longer than I expected, and longer than I hoped, but we are finally getting there.