Bank of Ireland records pre-tax profit drop of 2%

Bank of Ireland has reported a pre-tax profit of €835m (£726m) for 2018, down 2% on the €852m achieved in 2017.

The Dublin-based bank operates across the Republic of Ireland and the UK, and is one of Northern Ireland's 'big four' banks.

Its retail UK division, which includes its Northern Ireland business, saw a 77% increase in underlying profit, up from £91m to £161m.

That performance was helped by a continuing fall in bad loan charges.

The bank said it remains "committed" to the UK market and its targeting growth in mortgages, asset finance and personal loans.

It added that Brexit-related uncertainty is having an impact on sentiment and activity levels among some business customers.

"In the UK there is a clear weakening in investment by businesses," it said.

The bank said its Irish mortgage business performed strongly with €2.3bn of new residential mortgage lending, up 17% on the 2017 levels.