Bank of Ireland eyes payout as agm focuses on share price

Bank of Ireland yesterday said it has set its sights on resuming paying dividends early next year — its first payout since the banking crash, as top directors faced searching questions at its agm over a wilting share price and directors’ shareholdings.

The bank’s net interest margin — NIM — a key profitability gauge that measures the difference between the cost of its own funds and what it earns in interest from customers — slipped to 2.11% during the first three months of the year, while its capital ratio, was steady at a “fully-loaded” 11.2%, despite facing a €900m hole in its defined benefit pension scheme.

The bank expected to make progress on increasing its NIM, despite the low-interest rates across Europe which tend to work against lenders earning bumper margins.