AIB has raised its forecasts for net interest income and customer loan growth after new lending rose sharply in the first nine months of the year.
A trading update from the bank today showed total income rose 3 per cent in the nine-month period to the end of September. AIB’s net interest income was €2.87 billion, up 2 per cent compared to the first nine months of 2025, while other income was up 7 per cent.
Gross lending at the bank has grown by €4 billion to €76.3 billion since the end of last year, representing an increase of 5.6 per cent. New lending rose 17 per cent to €12.3 billion, which included €3.2 billion of Irish mortgages, up 4 per cent.
AIB previously forecast customer loans would grow by around 5 per cent this year. In the trading update, the bank has raised its full-year 2026 forecast for customer loan growth to 5–6 per cent.
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The bank has also raised its net interest income forecast to more than €3.85 billion, up from more than €3.8 billion previously.
It said the forecast was upgraded “based on rate assumptions” of a European Central Bank deposit rate of 2.5 per cent and a Bank of England rate of 4 per cent at December 2026.
Deposits held by customers have increased by 2.7 per cent to €120.4 billion, while AIB’s costs rose 3 per cent in the nine months and its cost-to-income ratio was 44 per cent.
The rise in costs, linked in part to salary inflation, was partially offset by lower average staff numbers, which fell 3 per cent year on year from 10,351 to 10,017 by the end of September 2026.
AIB chief executive Colin Hunt said the financial update showed the bank “had another strong quarter”, which reflected the resilience of the Irish economy.
“While the international environment remains uncertain, our disciplined approach, market-leading franchise and strong capital position enable us to continue to support our 3.5 million customers, the communities we serve and the wider Irish economy.
“As we enter the final months of our current strategic cycle, we remain focused on delivering sustainable growth and shareholder returns.”
He added that investors would be updated by the bank on its next strategic plan, up to 2030, in March 2027.
AIB has maintained its guidance on costs increasing by around 2 per cent this year and return on tangible equity of above 20 per cent, while other income is expected to be close to €800 million.
Last month, AIB announced a reduction of up to 0.35 per cent on its four-year fixed rate for mortgages over €250,000, with the reduction available to those whose homes don’t have a building energy rating of B3 or higher.
In October 2025, AIB also reduced a number of its non-green fixed mortgage rates by up to 0.65 per cent, which it estimated could benefit more than 10,000 people each month.
The bank’s latest financial update, which said AIB has a 28.4 per cent share of Ireland’s mortgage market, said green mortgages represented 61 per cent of new mortgage lending this year.
In March of this year, AIB announced a €1 billion share buyback programme. The bank said it completed €740 million of the buyback by the end of September and by November 3, the total had reached about €849 million.
