12,000 homes in negative equity

BANK of Ireland’s retail division was decimated in the last financial year, the results for the year to end March 2009 show.

Profits plunged from €716m to €20m, reflecting the turbulence in an economy that went into recession as the property bubble burst.

The bank said over 12,000 of its 195,000 mortgages were in negative equity while the number in arrears has doubled in the past six months.