Analysis: AIB, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB look to bank their huge share price gains

AIB chief executive Colin Hunt in his bank's update hailed "a very strong performance" for the first three months of the year.
AIB on Thursday was the last of the remaining three Irish banks to take stock in trading updates of the huge benefits flowing their way from the exits of formidable rivals Ulster Bank and KBC Bank from banking in the Republic. The banking trio is benefiting hugely from much-reduced competition and higher interest rates, but they may nonetheless face tougher going to sustain an extraordinary surge in their share prices of the past year.
Citing higher interest rates and loans growth, AIB chief executive Colin Hunt in his bank's update hailed "a very strong performance" for the first three months of the year. Net interest margin — a key measurement of banking profitability — had risen, "primarily driven" by rate hikes from the European Central Bank and by the increase in its loan book following the transaction it struck with Ulster Bank, the bank said. The lender also projected that net interest income would rise to €3.3bn, up from an earlier target of €3bn.