BoI takes a €1.1bn loan hit and €374m loss in the first year of Covid-19 pandemic

Group CEO Francesca McDonagh told reporters there was no impediment to Bank of Ireland getting involved in Ulster Bank's €20bn loan book sell-off.

Bank of Ireland unveiled plans to close over 100 branches across Ireland as the country's largest lender unveiled the €1.1bn toll in impaired loans in its first reckoning of the Covid-19 crisis.        

The fallout means that Bank of Ireland, in which the Government has a 14% stake, posted an underlying loss of €374m for 2020, although the lender said it had returned to profitability in the second half of the year and expects loan-loss impairments this year to be significantly lower.