Profit of €23.6m for WGZ Bank Ireland

WGZ Bank Ireland, the Dublin-based subsidiary of the German bank, reported a profit of €23.6 million in 2011, up from €23.3 million the previous year.

The bank is engaged in international credit business and provides refinancing facilities to Germany’s regional co-operative banks.

The bank’s operating income rose slightly, up to €25.2 million, but there was a slight decline in assets at the IFSC bank, down from €3.06 billion in 2010 to €3.04 billion in 2011.

The bank reduced the scope of its investments during the year, resulting in its balance sheet remaining “relatively stable”.

The overall credit quality of the bank’s portfolio “remained high”, despite some rating downgrades, with almost the entire portfolio, at 91 per cent, rated as investment grade. This is down from 94 per cent in 2010.

WGZ Bank Ireland reported a solvency ratio of 14.6 per cent in 2011, and noted that it continued to have access to a well-diversified range of funding sources.

Employment at the bank held steady at 23, with total staff costs of €2.1 million.