Bank of Scotland (Ireland) has reported a 20% increase in pre-tax profits for the year ending December 20005. Pre-tax profits climbed to €167m with the bank's assets growing by 36% to €5.1 billion.
The bank said that loans to customers grew by 36% to €17.7 billion, while customer deposits last year rose by 13% to €6.4 billion.
The bank opened the first seven of its 46 branches throughout the country earlier this year.
'The year ahead looks very promising, with consumer reaction to our retail propositions very positive, and excellent prospects for business banking with favourable market conditions and a strong pipeline,' commented Bank of Scotland (Ireland) CEO Mark Duffy.
The bank's parent company, HBOS, reported a 17% rise in annual profit, just ahead of average expectations, as revenue growth outpaced a rise in costs.
HBOS, Britain's fourth-biggest bank and the country's biggest mortgage lender, said its 2005 pre-tax profits rose to £4.81 billion sterling from £4.11 billion in 2004. HBOS said underlying operating income climbed 13% to £11 billion, while expenses rose 6% to £4.64 billion.
The UK bank reported a 28% rise in bad debts on its loans, but it said it was confident that 2006 would be 'another strong year for value creation' for the bank.
