Barclays Irish subsidiary sees profit rise 37% to €25m

Higher customer deposits, loan balances and 11% rise in fee income boost bank in 2015

Profits at the Irish subsidiary of Barclays Bank rose 37 per cent last year, according to accounts just filed with the companies office. Barclays Bank Ireland, which provides wholesale banking services to corporates and wealth management advice to individuals, made a profit of €25 million last year up from €18.3 million in 2014.

The accounts say this was due to higher customer deposits and loan balances, and an 11 per cent rise in fee income. This included €1.3 million in fees from merchant acquiring services while its foreign exchange revenues rose by 57 per cent to €4 million.

Its customer deposits rose by a quarter to €2 billion while drawn customer loans increased 10 per cent to just under €1 billion. This resulted in its loan-to-deposit ratio falling to 48 per cent from 54 per cent previously.

Loan impairment

Total operating income rose 26 per cent to €47.4 million while general and administrative expenses increased 5.3 per cent to under €17 million. It booked a loan impairment charge of €774,000, up from €159,000 in the previous 12 months.

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Barclays’ common equity tier one ratio was 12.7 per cent at the end of 2015, well ahead of the minimum 4.5 per cent regulatory capital requirement. However, it was down from the 16.4 per cent of a year earlier.

“The ratio decrease in the year is due to an increase in the level of loan facilities provided to customers and the inclusion of merchant acquiring exposures,” its accounts state.

Its total capital ratio was 14.7 per cent at the end of last year, ahead of the minimum 8 per cent level regulatory requirement and “giving sufficient capacity to conservatively expand the balance sheet”.

No dividend

It held additional liquidity of €521 million with the Central Bank of

Ireland

at the end of last year, funds that were largely previously held by its parent, Barclays Bank plc. The Irish subsidiary, which is led by chief executive

Sasha Wiggins

, paid corporation tax last year of €3.7 million, which was €1 million higher than in 2014. No dividend was paid to its UK parent.

A spokesman said: “2015 was another very positive year for Barclays Bank Ireland, which continues to pursue opportunities to grow the business . . .”

The average number of staff in Ireland last year was 104. They earned €11.2 million in wages and salaries, which equates to an average of €107,300 each. Total staff costs, including pensions, was €13.2 million, up 10 per cent.

Its cost-income ratio fell to 38 per cent last year from 43 per cent. Directors remuneration rose 2.2 per cent to €871,000 while fees paid to non-executive directors fell 7.6 per cent to €157,000.

The Irish subsidiary, which received its banking licence here in 2005, was involved in a number of corporate transactions here last year. These included arranging a €300 million credit facility for bookmaker Paddy Power.

Ciarán Hancock

Ciarán Hancock

Ciarán Hancock is Business Editor of The Irish Times