It lowers the risk, without question.
Just so members are clear, that's a flow calculation. A year ago, two-thirds of people who went for mortgages went for floating rate mortgages. Now it's only 10%. Over the course of the last year, every month around 10% or 12% of mortgage applications have been fixed rate. Obviously there are advantages. If there were a shock that caused interest rates to go up, people with floating rate mortgages would be more exposed. Having mortgages fixed for five years reduces the vulnerability. On the margin it's a sensible thing for people to do if they have any concerns in that regard.