Rabobank Ireland, the Irish subsidiary of the Dutch banking group, has reported strong growth with pre-tax profits last year up from #21.9 million (£17 million) to #35.3 million.

All of the bank's divisions - financial markets, corporate banking and structured finance - contributed to the growth.

Rabobank Ireland was established in 1994 and employs 79 people at the IFSC. Managing director Mr Fergus Murphy said: "Our performance last year was highly encouraging given the volatility in global financial markets and credit spreads. We continued to develop business across a full range of activities and all our business segments delivered strong growth."

The group expanded its operations in the Republic last year to include a new European Service Centre, which manages a proportion of Rabobank's corporate banking operations and some German projects.

"With the establishment of our new European Services Centre, we continue to expand our servicing activities to other group entities and expect the centre to generate approximately #200 million for Rabobank Ireland during the first half of 2001," said Mr Murphy.