AIB chief defends hefty half-year €1.2bn profit as interest rates climb

Lender predicted 'a very good' outcome for the full year, helped by ECB rate hikes and the lessening of competition from the departure of Ulster Bank and KBC

AIB chief executive Colin Hunt stressed the 'exceptional' nature of the financial returns this year and insisted the lender was seeing to build a profitable base to sustain appropriate levels of lending for future years.

AIB chief executive Colin Hunt has scrambled to defend the huge returns being generated from hefty increases in interest rates as Ireland's major lender predicted it was set for an "exceptional" 2023.  

The lender posted a huge uplift in operating profit to over €1.2bn for the first six months of the year, and predicted “a very good” outcome for the full year, helped by European Central Bank rate hikes and the lessening of competition from the departure of former fierce rivals, Ulster Bank and KBC Bank, from the banking market in the Republic.