Danske Bank has today reported profits that beat forecasts on higher than expected income from interest and trading activities.
The Danish bank also said it would launch a share buy-back programme.
The bank's net profit for 2016 rose to €2.671 billion, up 12% on the previous year when net profit before goodwill impairments came to €2.375 billion.
It said its total income rose by 5% to €6.451 billion on the back of higher net interest income.
Danske Bank said it would pay out a dividend of €1.2 per share, slightly lower than the figure expected by analysts, and that it would launch a €1.345 billion share buy-back programme.
The bank also said it expected its net profit for 2017 to be in the range of €2.287-2.556 billion.
Danske Bank noted that remortgaging activity "normalised" compared with the high level seen in the first half of 2015.
It also said the turbulence in the financial markets resulted in lower customer activity within investment products.
Loan impairment charges showed a net reversal of €0.4m and remained low, Danske Bank said. This was mainly due to improved credit quality and stable macroeconomic conditions.
There were no figures given for the performance of its Irish division, but the bank said it delivered a strong performance despite a demanding business environment.
Terry Browne, the country manager and head of corporate and institutional banking at Danske Bank Ireland, said the bank remained focused on supporting its clients, some of the leading corporates and institutions based in Ireland.
