ICS Building Society today announced an increase in pre-tax profits of 24.4 per cent to €113.4 million for the year ended December 31st, 2005.
New mortgage advances at the subsidiary of the Bank of Ireland Group grew 22.1 per cent to €1.7 billion, and its mortgage book was up 22.3 per cent to €5.2 billion.
The company reported an increase of 13.9 per cent in its deposit book, bringing it up to €3.3 billion, and income derived from fees and commission receivable rose 28 per cent to €66.3 million.
The society's managing director, Mr. Joe Larkin, said "The strong economic forces that underpin the market are still in place.
"We have seen a 50 bps increase in ECB rates and we expect another 50 to 75 bps increase. Rate changes have been well flagged and, in the main, offset by wage increases. As a consequence they have had little impact on the housing market," Mr Larkin said.