Profits up 9% in Irish Life Hungarian stake

K & H Bank, the Hungarian bank in which Irish Life has a 23 per cent stake, has reported a 9 per cent rise in profits after tax to 2.77 billion forints (£9 million) for 1997. Total assets rose by 25 per cent to 456 billion forints (£1.5 billion). The bank is bullish about trading prospects in the current year as the government plans to sell off its remaining 28.75 per cent stake to foreign and domestic investors. See page 3