NIB puts aside €379m for bad loans

NATIONAL Irish Bank (NIB) has reported a pre-tax loss of €341 million for the first half of this year, driven by a significant increase in loan impairment charges.

However, it said it will not be selling any of its bad assets to the new National Asset Management Agency (NAMA).

The pre-tax loss for the first six months of this year — down from a profit of €2m for the corresponding period last year — was mainly due to the €379m provision NIB set aside to cover bad loans, or those which are unlikely to be repaid, in the period.