Irish Nationwide profits on the up

Irish Nationwide Building Society has reported pre-tax profits of €391m for 2007.

This represents growth of 64% from the €239m reported in 2006.

However, the building society's gross lending fell to €4.3bn in 2007 from €4.9bn the previous year, a consequence of the slowing down of the property market.

Nationwide's CEO Michael Fingelton said: “The society believes that 2008 will be a challenging year for all financial institutions. Because of the society's strong liquidity, strong reserves and strong capital base, together with an exceptionally strong balance sheet, we are well positioned to compete strongly in whatever areas of the market challenges emerge.'