Bank of Scotland approved £1.8 billion in mortgages for Irish customers last year but is still refusing to disclose how much of this money has been drawn down.

The bank, which entered the Irish market in 1999 with the cheapest mortgage rate, has consistently withheld figures that would signal its share of the Irish mortgage market, citing competitive reasons.

Most analysts suggest the bank has won close to 1 per cent of the market since its arrival.

Speaking to The Irish Times yesterday, Mr Ronnie MacAuley, director of mortgages, said the bank continued to attract a large number of calls from Irish customers. The bank sells from Edinburgh into the Irish market over the phone and Internet. It also sells through brokers.

Mr MacAuley said Bank of Scotland was receiving some 1,000 phone calls every week from Irish customers. The average mortgage being sought is for around £125,000, with the average loan to value of the property at over 50 per cent. "The loan to value is still very low in a highly competitive market," he said.

Bank of Scotland has very few first-time buyers on its books. Its main target market are homeowners trading up or switching from an Irish institution.

Since its arrival, Irish banks and building societies have reduced mortgage rates and Bank of Scotland is no longer the only bank offering the lowest mortgage rate. The bank announced a £28 billion sterling merger with the Halifax last week, although it is unlikely to offer mortgages under the Halifax brand for some time in Ireland, if at all. Irish customers are unlikely to see immediate changes as a result of the merger, which takes effect next September.