Bank of Ireland records pre-tax profit drop of 2%

Image source, PA

Image caption, Bank of Ireland operates across the Republic of Ireland and the UK
  • Author, John Campbell
  • Role, 大象传媒 News NI Economics & Business Editor

Bank of Ireland has reported a pre-tax profit of 鈧835m (拢726m) for 2018, down 2% on the 鈧852m achieved in 2017.

The Dublin-based bank operates across the Republic of Ireland and the UK, and is one of Northern Ireland's 'big four' banks.

Its retail UK division, which includes its Northern Ireland business, saw a 77% increase in underlying profit, up from 拢91m to 拢161m.

That performance was helped by a continuing fall in bad loan charges.

'Brexit-related uncertainty'

The bank said it remains "committed" to the UK market and its targeting growth in mortgages, asset finance and personal loans.

It added that Brexit-related uncertainty is having an impact on sentiment and activity levels among some business customers.

"In the UK there is a clear weakening in investment by businesses," it said.

The bank said its Irish mortgage business performed strongly with 鈧2.3bn of new residential mortgage lending, up 17% on the 2017 levels.