Shares in Anglo Irish Bank fell by 2.5 per cent yesterday, in spite of the bank raising its profit target for the year as a result of strong loan growth.

Anglo's shares closed at €13.80, down 35 cent on the previous day, following another day of weakness on global stock markets.

In a trading statement issued yesterday morning, Anglo said it expected its earnings per share (eps) for the year to the end of September to be five cent better than the current market consensus of 124 cent.

This eps figure excludes the €22 million pretax profit from the sale by Anglo of its Isle of Man trust activities last December.

The bank said it anticipated customer lending balances to increase in the mid-30 per cent range for the full year. Analysts said this implied net new loans during the year of more than €17 billion.

Anglo said asset quality was "robust" while interest margins "remain stable". The bank described its liquidity position as "excellent".

Anglo's treasury division has achieved growth in customer funding of close to €15 billion, an increase of 40 per cent. The bank said it had raised more than €1.8 billion in additional capital.

"Our tier one capital position is strong, at in excess of 8 per cent, leaving the bank very well placed for the future," the company said.

Group chief executive David Drumm said: "We believe that the current uncertainty in markets demonstrates the attractiveness of our relationship-driven model."

Anglo will publish its full-year results on November 28th.

In a note to clients, Davy said the bank's management had indicated to the stockbroker that they were confident of achieving growth of 15-20 per cent in the medium term.

Separately, Anglo informed the stock market yesterday that Credit Suisse had increased its shareholding to 7.067 per cent, after buying more shares on August 31st. Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) Ltd and Credit Suisse International now owns 53.37 million shares in Anglo.

These shares are believed to be held on behalf of Fermanagh-born businessman Seán Quinn, although he has never confirmed that he owns any shares in Anglo.

Reports had suggested that Mr Quinn could own up to 11 per cent of Anglo's shares - 6 per cent through Credit Suisse and the balance in contracts for difference.

The Quinn Group declined to comment on this yesterday.