Bank of Ireland announces losses

By Press Association , Aug 10, 2012
Filed under: Investing

Bank of Ireland has announced pre-tax losses of 1.25 billion euro (£984 million) for the first half of the year.

The bailed out bank blamed the poor performance on impaired loans and having to sell off assets.

Bank of Ireland said its bad loans cost 941 million euro (£740 million).

Losses for the first six months of 2011 were 556 million euro (£437 million).

Richie Boucher, chief executive of the bank, said the amount of money set aside to cover failing loans is expected to reduce from this year.

"While the Irish economy remains challenged and our impairment charges remain elevated, we expect the impairment charges to reduce from this level, trending to a more normalised level as the Irish economy recovers," he said.

"The pace of the reduction will be particularly dependent on the future performance of our Irish residential mortgage book and commercial property markets, as well as our own credit management initiatives."

Economic doom and gloom in Ireland

Feast and then a famine
 Statues commemorating the Irish Famine outside of the financial hub in the Irish capital, the IFSC. The Irish Famine saw a million Irish die due to starvation and a million more emigrate. Over 100,000 Irish are expected to emigrate due to the financial crisis the country faces.
Ghost town
 A view of the Belmayne Development in North County Dublin, one of the thousands of ghost estates across Ireland. The Irish government estimates the figure of empty houses around Ireland at being close to 300,000.
People before profit?
 Members of the People Before Profit Alliance, protesting against NAMA, the National Asset Management Association. NAMA is a state initiative and effectively a 'bad bank', controlling non-performing assets.
Sign of the times
 A sign with 'High rents are killing our jobs' features on Dublin's most sought after shopping real estate, Grafton Street.
Bailout
 Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen, left, and The Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan (now deceased) speak to the media at government buildings on Nov 21, 2010, admitting they applied for an €85bn IMF-EU bailout.
The Blues Brothers
 The Irish Prime Minister and Finance Minister Brian Lenihan (now deceased) depicted on a wall in South Dublin as the Blues Brothers. The government unveiled a raft of austerity measures included tax cuts, a property tax and a reduction in minimum wage.
Grand Theft NAMA
 A sign saying 'Grand Theft NAMA', playing on the popular computer game 'Grand Theft Auto', on the side of a building in Dublin.
Liffeytown
 As part of an art installation with Absolut Fringe in Dublin, artist Fergal McCarthy brought 'Liffeytown' - 11 red and green houses to Dublin's Liffey river, commentating on the boom and crash of the Irish property market.
The end of Anglo
 The signage is removed from the bank at the heart of the Irish financial meltdown. Anglo Irish Bank went into wind down mode in 2008 and closed its Dublin headquarters in 2011.
Buyers cash in
 An auction in Dublin at the end of 2011, where buyers cashed in on bargains. €52 million worth of property was sold, with 72% not requiring finance for the purchases.