PTSB profits tumble as falling interest rates offset rising mortgage market share

Lender saw pre-tax profits fall by almost 75% to €19m in the first six months of this year

Despite the drop in earnings, the bank left its full-year guidance unchanged, noting that it was in line with management expectations given the more challenging interest rate environment. Picture Andres Poveda

PTSB saw its profits fall by almost 75% in the first six months of 2025 as falling interest rates offset gains in mortgage lending. 

Posting its half-year earnings on Thursday, PTSB said its pre-tax profits fell to €19m between January and June, down from €75m in the same period last year. 

The group's net interest income also declined in the first six months, falling by 7% to €288m following a total of eight cuts in the European Central Bank's key interest rates. 

The bank's margin fell from 2.27% to 2.02%.

Despite the drop in earnings, PTSB left its full-year guidance unchanged, noting that it was in line with management expectations given the more challenging interest rate environment.

It also said it remains on track to start making payouts to shareholders from next year.

"We have made great progress in providing customers with much-needed competition with new mortgage lending up 84% year on year and new Business Banking lending up 23%," said PTSB chief executive, Eamonn Crowley.

"This progress is also evident in our book growth, with deposits up 7%, our mortgage book up 3% and our Business Banking book up 14%.

"Our guidance for 2025 remains unchanged, as does our intention to restart dividend payments to our shareholders next year, subject to financial position and required approvals.”

PTSB also announced that it submitted a new model for assessing the riskiness of its loans to the Central Bank of Ireland as of May 30, which it said will reduce its capital requirements and allow it to provide more competitive mortgage offerings. 

The last year has seen PTSB significantly increase its market share of new mortgage lending, growing from 13.5% in the first half of last year to 20% as of June 2025.

The lender said operating expenses fell in the period, attributing that partly to a voluntary severance scheme that will see 300 people depart the bank by the end of this year.

As part of the scheme, the bank reported an exceptional charge of €29m in the six months, adding that the redundancies are expected to generate €19m in cost savings a year, with the bank on track to meet its full-year cost target of €525m in 2025.