First half pre-tax profits at Anglo Irish Bank rose by 27% to €115.2m, with earnings per share up 20% to 24.7 cent. The bank said there had been growth across all the bank's areas of business.
A 17% higher interim dividend of 4.2 cent per share has been declared.
Net lending grew by 15% to €13.2 billion, which the bank described as 'particularly satisfying' set against the uncertainty of the past six months.
The UK now represents 39% of the bank's loan book, while the US operation, centred in Boston, accounts for 6% of total lending.
Anglo's deposit base also grew by 15% in the period, though it said sluggish equity markets had held back the rate of growth in its private banking operations.
The bank said it had recently commissioned an independent examination of the controls, procedures and practices in its treasury division. It said this was almost complete, and no potential weaknesses had been identified.
Anglo Irish Bank shares closed at a new yearly high of €6.37 in Dublin this evening - a gain of 27 cent.
