Barclays Bank made a net profit of €23 million from its Irish operations last year, up from €20 million in 2010.

Accounts for Barclays Bank Ireland plc filed at the Companies Office show that net interest income rose 17 per cent to €31.7 million. Its pretax profit came to €26.3 million.

The directors did not recommend making a dividend payment for the year. In a note accompanying the accounts the directors describe the bank’s profits as “a strong performance in the face of challenging economic conditions”.

The bank suffered total impairment charges of €4.4 million in 2011. This was lower than expected, the directors noted, and also down on the €6.2 million impairment charges incurred the previous year.

Customer deposits fell by 12 per cent to €1.14 billion as “a number of corporate customers” moved deposit funds to Barclays Bank plc in the UK. Lending to customers rose 6,6 per cent to €625 million. Fee income fell by 18 per cent to €10.2 million as a result of fewer one-off transactions generating high fees than was the case in 2010.

The bank employed an average of 86 people in Ireland last year, up slightly on 2010, with staff costs arriving at €10.2 million.