BoI figures not as bad as expected

BANK of Ireland’s first-half losses were not as bad as some analysts forecast, and that in itself is good news for the group that has been slowly clawing its way back from the abyss.

Initially when the banking crisis broke in September 2009 it was thought that BoI was in a much more perilous state than its arch-rival, AIB.

That has turned out not to be the case and the bank is well on the way to fully meeting its new capital requirements having secured €2.9 billion from the markets in recent months to get its capital base back into shape. It was interesting too that, while AIB and Anglo bosses have called for the retention of the state guarantee on the banks for another 12 months, Richie Boucher, chief executive of BoI, went in the opposite direction.