NIB results kept in the shadows

Less than a week after the Irish Bankers' Federation's incoming chief called on members to help restore the sector's tarnished reputation, National Irish Bank has shown what it thinks of this new era of trust and transparency.

The bank, one of the four large clearing banks in the State, failed to issue notification that it was releasing details of its results for the first six months of the current financial year. When challenged over its lapse, bank representatives said they thought there would be no interest in the results as previous information releases had not been reported. This from the bank that recently has had one of the highest profiles, for all the wrong reasons.

Can it be a coincidence that the latest figures show a 40 per cent fall in profits for the bank which is still under investigation for overcharging customers on their accounts and involvement in the illegal sale of offshore financial products? It has also been put through the wringer with its peers in the DIRT fiasco.

The Australian-owned bank has shaken up its operations here but according to figures which - contrary to the bank's understanding - have been reported, its profit collapse is concentrated in the last three months as data for the first quarter showed profits at the same level as a year previously.