NIB provides for €198m bad debts

BAD debt provisioning at National Irish Bank of €198 million in the first quart of this year is close to the total amount of €228m set aside last year.

The provision is a further reflection of the worsening state of the Irish property market.

The group’s parent bank, Danske, said bad debt provisioning at its Irish subsidiary had gone up 40-fold, adding it was sending “senior people” to Dublin to deal with the crisis.