Aynsley: €724m loss part of 'orderly wind-down' of IBRC

The former Anglo Irish Bank has recorded losses of almost three-quarters of a billion euros in the first six months of the year.

The State-owned financial house lost €724m up to the end of June, compared to a pre-tax loss of €873m for the whole of last year.

It revealed it had an operating profit of €359m and blamed the loss on disposals and provisions of more than a billion euros.

Mike Aynsley, group chief executive of the rebranded Irish Bank Resolution Corporation Limited (IBRC), said the start of the year continued to present significant economic challenges for the institution.

“Notwithstanding the continued macro-economic challenges, the six-month period to June 30, 2012, was one of relative operational stability and steady progress towards the orderly wind-down of the Bank,” he said.

In its interim report, the bank – which is winding down Anglo and Irish Nationwide – said it had reduced its operating expenses to €129m and non-staff costs by a fifth.

Staff numbers have been cut by 15%, with 256 people working either directly in, or providing support to, the Bank’s NAMA unit and another 775 employed elsewhere.