Current Account seems to remember the Consumers' Association being less than enthusiastic about Ulster Bank's 4.2 per cent demand account - an account aimed clearly at stymying Northern Rock's efforts to carve out a chink of the Irish deposit markets with its own 4 per cent rate.

In effect, the CAI said investors should ignore the Ulster Bank offer until the bank made it clear how long the 4.2 per cent interest rate would last for.

What the CAI suspected, with justification, was that the Ulster offer was nothing but a spoiler against Northern Rock and that there was no evidence that Ulster was committed to offering decent deposit rates.

Well, surprise surprise, after hoovering up £60 million in deposits, Ulster has closed the 4.2 per cent account after a week despite indicating that a good response would mean that the 4.2 per cent account would remain open.

Not one of the other deposit-takers rushed in to match the Ulster offer, an indicator that they didn't believe that offering demand deposits at that level was a profitable option.

As far as Current Account is concerned, Ulster Bank's very temporary high-interest demand account is little more than a loss leader, aimed at ensuring that a lower-cost and higher-interest competitor does not get established.

Presumably Ulster believes that £60 million worth of unprofitable deposits is worth the cost of seeing off the competition.

It remains to be seen how significant the Ulster attack on Northern Rock's plans has been, but in terms of the total deposit base, the £60 million-odd hoovered up by Ulster Bank is a drop in the ocean.

Every bank in the State has millions-upon-millions of money sitting in demand deposits where depositors are privileged to receive interest rates of a fraction of 1 per cent.

If your bank is still paying you a pittance in interest on your demand deposit account, move the account to where it makes some decent money.