National Irish Bank has said its operating profits rose by 90% to €21m in the first quarter of 2009 as a result of cost cutting.
The bank's income for the first three months of the year rose by 12% to €52m.
NIB, which is owned by Denmark's Danske Bank, said it was setting aside €198m for loan loss impairments for the three month period. It had set aside €228m for the whole of last year.
The bank's CEO Andrew Healy said that the bank's focus on cost management was 'working well'. Costs were down 13% to €31m in the three month period.
'However, given the further deterioration in economic conditions, we have again this quarter set aside a substantial amount for potential loan losses,' he added.
NIB's parent Danske Bank Group said its net profit for the first quarter fell from €0.3 billion in 2008 to €0.2 billion. However, income rose by 67% to €2.3 billion.
Danske Bank said it was setting aside €1.1 billion for loan loss impairments, an increase from the €0.1 billion figure for the first quarter of 2008.
