Bank of Scotland (Ireland) has reported a 48 per cent increase in pre-tax profits to €19.1 million and has reported good progress in integrating ICC Bank into its operations.
The bank, which specialises in the small to medium-sized business market in Ireland, benefitted from continued strong growth in the Irish economy last year.
Bank of Scotland also offers mortgages in the Irish market selling them directly from Edinburgh. Details on its success in the Irish mortgage market will be disclosed next week, according to the bank.
The total assets at Bank of Scotland (Ireland) increased by 42 per cent to €2 billion. Lending to customers rose by 43 per cent to €1.5 billion and deposits were up by 47 per cent to €1.1 billion.
Announcing the results yesterday, chief executive Mr Mark Duffy said the merger of Bank of Scotland and Halifax would strengthen the bank's ability to provide a wide range of financial products to customers.
"I believe we are a very good fit. We are combining one of the strongest retail banking brands in the UK, the Halifax, with the outstanding corporate strengths of Bank of Scotland."
A spokesman for Bank of Scotland said Irish customers were unlikely to see any significant changes as a result of the merger in the immediate future. The merger will take effect from next September. Bank of Scotland and Halifax are committed to retaining both of the brands, although whether the Halifax will expand to sell products into the Irish market has still to be decided.
Bank of Scotland has established its brand in the Irish market for selling mortgages and it will have to decide whether to maintain that or switch to the Halifax range of products. Halifax is already a dominant player in the Northern Ireland market.
The merger narrows the options for the Irish banks in terms of any further consolidation in the UK market, particularly for National Australia Bank, which owns National Irish Bank and Northern Bank in Ireland.
It has been searching for an acquisition in the UK market but the spate of mergers has lessened its choices.
