Bank of Scotland loses nearly €3bn

BANK of Scotland (Ireland) – which recently closed its Halifax retail banking arm here – generated a pre-tax loss of €2.96 billion last year, according to the company’s latest accounts.

The figure was a significant increase on the €212 million loss recorded the preceding year and was driven by a large increase in impairment charges to cover losses on ‘bad’ loans.

Those impairment charges rose to just under €3.3bn last year and represented 10.1% of the bank’s loan book. In comparison, impairment levels for 2008 amounted to €552m and just 1.8% of the loan book.