Permanent TSB Group Holding has reported higher profits and income for 2024 and said it was in a "prime position" to continue to provide competition in the Irish market.
PTSB said its profit before tax for the year rose to €159m from €79m in 2023, while its total income was up 1% to €672m and in line with guidance.
The bank said its total new lending came to €2.6 billion, down from €2.8 billion in 2023.
But it noted that new lending was up 19% in the second half of the year, which the bank said showed good momentum in diversifying income through growth in its Business Banking lending.
New Mortgage lending also eased to €2.1 billion from €2.3 billion the previous year, but it again noted a 95% increase in the second half of the year compared to the first as it said that customers responded positively to its "competitive" mortgage offering.
Eamonn Crowley, PTSB's chief executive, said the notable increase in business activity in the second half of the year, "tells a story of the progress of the bank over a number of years".
"Our underlying profit was €180m, which was up 8%, and if you look at our balance sheets, deposits were up 5%, and have grown by 25% in the last three years, so significant growth is there," he told Morning Ireland.
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"Our mortgage loan book has grown by 60% in the last three years, and really important for us, we're diversifying our loan book, we're now lending to businesses and last year, we lent nearly half a billion into the business sector and that's up from about €50m four years ago", the CEO said.
"There's really a lot of momentum in the business which shows we are competing in the market," he stated.
The lender said its mortgage market share increased to 20.2% in the fourth quarter of 2024 and stood at 16.4% for the year.
Fixed-rate products accounted for 85% of its new mortgage lending, with Green mortgage lending accounting for 43% of all new loans.
It noted that the mortgage market in Ireland reached €12.6 billion in 2024, up 4% on its level for 2023 though still lower than the €14.1 billion recorded in 2022.
Meanwhile, customer deposits of about €24.1 billion rose by 5% from €1.2 billion while its SME banking book up 16%, with new SME lending up 28%.
PTSB said its Net Interest Income of €612m dipped by 1% as a reduction in margins in the second half of the year offset higher average interest earning assets.
Last month the bank said that around 300 jobs would be cut this year as part of a voluntary redundancy scheme that was launched last year.
The bank said today its voluntary severance scheme is expected to generate annualised cost savings of over €20m a year and, together with a series of other initiatives, will see its total costs reduce in absolute terms towards €500m in the medium term.
An exceptional charge in the region of €25m associated with this scheme will be incurred in 2025.
The chief executive said the jobs cuts are in the context of the bank having increased its head count by 1,000 people in the last three years through the acquisition of some of the Ulster Bank business.
He said the scheme is voluntary "on both sides". "It's voluntary for the staff member, and it's voluntary for the bank, we do not have to accept every application."
Mr Crowley said the job cuts will not impact customer service at the bank.
He also said the the bank was seeing continued organic growth in its balance sheet as the brand resonates in the market and attracts new customers.
"Our deposits have increased by almost €1.2 billion, our new SME lending has increased by 28%, and our share of the new mortgage lending market grew to 20.2% in Q4 of 2024."
The bank today announced its refreshed "Business Strategy 2025-27", which is focused on deepening customer relationships, diversifying income and differentiating through customer experience.
"We will do this while driving continuous operational efficiencies and prudent cost management so the Bank can continue to grow and prosper in a sustainable manner while rewarding shareholders," the CEO said.
"PTSB is the challenger bank in Ireland and with our strong capital and liquidity positions, we are in prime position to continue to provide much needed competition in the Irish market and achieve our ambition of being Ireland's best personal and business bank through exceptional customer experiences," he added.
Mr Crowley said he does not expect further announcements of redundancies but that overall headcount is likely to continue to fall naturally.
"We don't envisage any more voluntary severance, but we would expect, over time, through efficiency and changing internal practices, that our headcount will drift down over time," Mr Crowley said.
Asked about caps on bankers' pay, the PTSB CEO said there is currently an "unlevel playing field" as some banks do not have restrictions but he added that it would up to the Minister for Finance to decide how to proceed on the issue.
In November, a major technical issues resulted in delays in sending and receiving payments for many PTSB customers.
Mr Crowley said today that this was due to problem with a third-party provider in Italy and that the bank has invested heavily in IT.
"Our systems weren't impacted directly and it was this third-party that caused the problem," Mr Crowley said.
"We've invested €400m in the bank in the last five years, the vast majority in that is in the technology space," he said.
"Last year, for example, we launched a new app, which has now allowed us to build more self service journeys for customers. So we're investing in technology, and it's working quite well," he added.
PTSB also assumed that the European Union will be hit with 10%-15% tariffs on exports to the US, in calculating the amount of capital it has set aside to cover potential loan defaults.
"There are risks, there's no doubt about it, but they are risks which are manageable is what I'd say given the government finances," its CEO said.
Shares in the bank were lower in Dublin trade today.
