NIB sees pre-tax loss of €468m

NATIONAL Irish Bank (NIB) has reported a pre-tax loss of €468 million and a loan impairment charge of €504m, for the first nine months of 2010.

Although the negative numbers remain high, the loss figure is slightly down from the €496m loss reported for the corresponding period last year. Added to that, the impairment figure – what is set aside for non-performing loans – is €40m less, when measured on a year-on-year basis.

Although, conscious of ongoing challenges in the market, NIB’s chief executive Andrew Healy said that loan impairments are likely to have peaked in the first half of this year.