First Trust Bank today reported pre-tax profits up 21 per cent for the first six months of the year.
The Northern Ireland bank increased the pre-tax profit to €101 million, helping its Dublin-based parent, AIB to profits up 8.6 per cent at just over €1.3 billion.
First Trust said loans and deposits increased by 17 per cent and 10 per cent respectively since the end of last December - 32 per cent and 17 per cent in the year since the end of June 2006.
The particularly strong showing by First Trust was largely driven by strong growth in business lending activity combined with significant growth in business and personal deposits.
Costs increased by 6 per cent, reflecting the impact of increased investment in the development of operating systems.
The bank - one of those cited last year by the Competition Commission for imposing high personal account charges while paying low levels of interest - also highlighted the launch of its new personal current account.
AIB profits from operations across the UK as a whole rose 19 per cent to €223 million while its Polish profits grew sharply by an impressive 35 per cent to €155 million.