Bank of Ireland profits down by a third
Bank of Ireland has announced pre-tax profits of €650m for the six months to the end of September, a drop of just over a third compared with the same period last year.
No dividend will be paid to investors in the current financial year and the bank made no guarantees about when next a dividend would be paid, saying: "The group does not expect to resume paying cash dividends on ordinary stock until more favourable economic and financial conditions return."
The recent volatility in markets has prompted the country’s second biggest bank towards more traditional and conservative methods of funding, including increasing its number of deposit accounts - customer deposits rose by 19% in the year from September 2007.
Governor of Bank of Ireland group Richard Burrows said: "As recession impacts our main markets, Bank of Ireland, in common with other financial institutions, faces the inevitable consequences of lower income and increasing loan impairment losses...Our strategy in managing our way through this difficult time will ensure the future of the Bank."
Despite the outlook in the bank’s first report since the Government’s multibillion-euro rescue package, chief executive Brian Goggin maintained it was a strong, sound and successful business.
