Ulster Bank has reported an operating profit of €69m for the third quuarter, down €74m from the same time last year.
The bank said the fall was mainly due to a lower impairment release and one-off income gains in the third quarter of last year.
It had been able to release €75m in provisions originally made to allow for expected bad debts in the third quarter of 2015, but the write backs this year were substantially lower at €48m.
The bank, owned by Royal Bank of Scotland, said it added a futher €0.3 billion of gross new mortgage lending in the three months to the end of September, up 51% on the same time last year.
It noted that the lower yielding tracker mortgage portfolio declined by a further €0.3 billion to €11.1 billion.
But total income of €171m was down €57m due to a once-off boost in the third quarter of last year, including a €17m profit on the sale of a buy-to-let mortgage portfolio.
Ulster Bank also said its adjusted operating expenses fell by 10% to €138m in the third quarter compared to the same time last year.
