DIRECTORS' PAY at Bank of Scotland (Ireland) fell 22 per cent to €3.2 million in 2007 due to the departure of three directors during the year, newly filed accounts show.

The bank did not break down the amount it paid to each director in the accounts. Some €190,000 of the directors' remuneration bill related to retirement benefits accrued under pension schemes.

Directors include chief executive Mark Duffy and chief operating officer Richard McDonnell.

The bank provided loans totalling €5.4 million to four directors in 2007, compared with €5.3 million to six directors a year earlier.

Staff numbers increased by 356 during the year, bringing its workforce to 1,649 at the end of the year, reflecting the expansion of the bank's Halifax branch network. The wages and salaries bill rose to €99.5 million from €81 million during the year.

The bank, owned by the UK's largest mortgage lender HBOS, has grown its Irish retail network to 42 branches.

Three directors resigned from the bank's board during the year.

Ian Corfield, who was head of retail at the bank and oversaw the growth of the Halifax brand in Ireland, resigned in April 2007 to become head of retail at HBOS's Australian operations.

Finance director and chief operating officer Joe Higgins resigned in February 2007 to take charge of HBOS's UK mortgage business. Michael Hickey, a non-executive director, resigned in June 2007.

Bank of Scotland (Ireland) recorded underlying pretax profits of €294 million in 2007, up 29 per cent from the previous year, according to the accounts.

Last month the bank reported profits of €124 million for the first half of the year, an increase of 5 per cent on last year. Profit growth slowed due to higher bad debts and increased funding costs driven higher by the global credit crisis.