Danske Bank’s Northern Ireland operations have reported pretax profits of more than £40 million (€49 million) for the first half of the year.
The Nordic bank, which has 44 branches and three business centres in the North, would have delivered a stronger profits performance had it not been hit by loan impairment charges totalling £5.8 million in the six months to the end of June.
Overall, Danske said, the combination of “higher income and lower costs” had resulted in a 9 per cent increase in profit before the impairment charges were factored in.
In business banking new lending is up 19 per cent year-on-year
The bank’s total income in Northern Ireland grew year-on-year from £113.5 million in the first half of 2017 to £116 million this year.
But corresponding pretax profits slumped from £57.7 million in 2017 to £40.6 million this year as the bank suffered loan impairments compared to the “net recoveries” it had enjoyed in recent years.
Danske’s latest set of financial results also show that its lending in the North grew by 9 per cent year-on-year while deposits also rose by 11 per cent.
The bank’s loan-to-deposit ratio was 73 per cent as of June, 2018
According to its UK chief executive, Kevin Kingston, Danske’s “underlying performance” remains strong.
Record year
Mr Kingston said the bank enjoyed a record year in terms of mortgage lending last year and that had continued in the first six months of 2018 with new mortgage lending up 28 per cent year-on-year.
“Latest market data indicates that we are now funding one in four of all first-time-buyer mortgages across Northern Ireland.
“In business banking new lending is up 19 per cent year-on-year, as we continue to further strengthen our leading market share in the corporate and business segment.
“Notable deals included funding support in Belfast for Andras Hotel Group’s new £12 million Hampton by Hilton nine-story hotel and their £5 million, 60-bedroom extension at the Holiday Inn Express, as well as support to cloud provider Novosco, who through ongoing expansion are aiming to create 150 new jobs,” Mr Kingston added.
