BoI first bank to turn a profit since the economic meltdown

Bank of Ireland posted a net profit of €40m in 2011; the first domestic bank to do so since the economic downturn took hold three years ago.

The profit was primarily as a result of one-off items such as a tax credit and a bond exchange.

In 2010, the bank made a net loss of €609m. On a pre-tax basis, the company cut its losses last year from €950m to €190m. The underlying pre-tax loss was just over €1.52bn; down from nearly €3.5bn a year earlier.