Bank of Ireland tells shareholders it is profitable and adding to reserves

Bank of Ireland is profitable and adding to its capital reserves, according to its latest interim management statement, released at yesterday’s annual general meeting.

One of its key indicators of profitability, the net interest margin, averaged 205 basis points over the first three months of the year. However, Merrion Capital analyst, Ciaran Callaghan said the pace of expansion of the bank’s net interest margin has moderated compared with 2013.

All three domestic Irish banks have struggled with high levels of loan losses since the economy crashed in 2008. Bank of Ireland guided that defaulted loan volumes are continuing to decline, with group defaulted volumes at the end of March 2014 being below the levels at 31 December 2013.