BoI’s assets arm suffers €16bn meltdown

BANK OF IRELAND’S asset management arm has suffered a €16 billion meltdown as key North American clients stripped it of business on the back of a poor investment performance.

The bank, which published half-year profits of €848 million yesterday, said funds under management belonging to American and Canadian pension and investment funds had tumbled from €23bn to €6.6bn over the last 18 months - a decline of over 70%. Over €13bn of the fall took place over the past year.

Profits at Bank of Ireland Asset Management (BIAM) slid to €51m for the six months to September, down from €70m in the same period last year. The bank said full-year profits would be around €40m lower than last year’s €125m, as a result of lost fund management fees and commissions.