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BANK OF IRELAND had a loss before tax of €2.1 billion in 2012, end of year figures for the bank have revealed.
The losses show a huge increase on 2011, which had losses of €190 million.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, chief executive Richie Boucher said that €1.8 billion of this loss was due to the buying back of subordinated debt.
Breaking down the losses further, Boucher said that these had decreased in the second half of 2012, and that the bank saw its income up nine per cent and its costs down 5.5 per cent, with its deposits having grown by €4.7 billion.
Staff and redundancies
On the topic of redundancies, which have seen over 5,000 leave the bank over the last four years, the chief executive couldn’t confirm future numbers.
We don’t have a set number in mind. We took charge of €135 million in our account for 2012, of which €57 million is still to be utilised in the current redundancy programmes that are underway.
Boucher said that he could not discuss pension difficulties at the bank due to the fact that they were in the middle of an engagement process with trade unions, but did say that lower than expected bond yields and “certain regulatory changes” had been “disappointing”.
Mortgage arrears
The banking chief said that just under 10 per cent, or 17,000 owner-occupier mortgage accounts with the bank, were in arrears, “of which 5,000 are early arrears and 12,000 are later arrears”.
He went on to say that the bank was “continuing to restructure a significant number of customer mortgages as they engage with us.”
We’ve made very good progress on that. We now have 95 per cent of our owner-occupiers who are either fully meeting all their payments or are in a revised arrangement and are working with us.
Of the remaining five per cent, Boucher revealed that one per cent of them were in the “legal process”, while the bank was working “very hard” to deal with the other four per cent.
Repossession
Adamant that repossessions are not “a desired outcome for us,” Boucher said that they remained something that the bank would have to follow in “certain circumstances”, having ended 2012 with 96 owner-occupier properties in their possession.
“We have another 74 with repossession orders issued,” he said, adding: “We sold 88 repossessed properties during 2012.”
Ending of Bank Guarantee
In the same month as the state’s Bank Guarantee is to end, Boucher said that its end would “have a very positive impact on our income”.
Of the €4.8 billion that had been given to the bank by government, €3.8 billion has been repaid, with the State owning 1.8 billion in preference shares and a 15 per cent holding in the bank.
I’d say that taxpayers are very much in the money with regard to Bank of Ireland. It’s been very very important from a Bank of Ireland perspective that the state and the taxpayers see a significant return for the support they’ve given us.
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When bankers get huge bonuses based on profits shouldn’t they take pay cuts or repay previous bonuses when they make equally huge losses???
There should be a link between bonus levels and performance but asking them to repay previous bonuses is ludicrous.
What bothers me is that Dan McLoughlin, BOI chief economist, and one of the people most responsible for continuously talking up the property market in Ireland, as well as promising a soft landing, is still employed as cheif economist there. What kind of accountability is that?
Cornelius, too right!! this is the major issue -ACCOUNTABILITY – it doesn’t exist in White collar world yet the bonuses do.
The ex Chief of BOI Brian Goggin (2005 -09) has a pension of €660,000 PER year for life. How is in any way justifiable that we are still paying this for a man in charge of a bank that failed & has caused so much hardship & havoc in Irish society.
Do Irish banks make money..or just debt
We print debt here.
Non profit organisations.
@ Graham Gallagher. Yes indeedy the banks made humongous profits down through the years, and paid the profits out in dividends to their shareholders, who in most cases comprised of , guess who ?, the senior employees of the very same banks. It wouldnt have been unusual for banks to post €600 million profits PER QUARTER, yes PER QUARTER. But did they do what they expect everyone else to do and put a bit aside for the proverbial rainy day. Did they f**k. They got their cronies in government to bail them out of their bad gambling debts and saddled it on to our children for the next 40 years.That’s capitalism for ye. Great system isn’t it.
nail on the head Brian!
I know very little about it, but did I hear that the big profits included the value of the loans they had made, take that away and the had no profits. They gave themselves based on declared profits, which turned out to be huge losses.
Has the accounting system changed?
Boucher was on RTE1 and also Newstalk this morning as well.
Funny he didn’t say anything about using a loophole to take his U.K. mortgage customers of their tracker rates and tripling their mortgage repayments.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2013/mar/02/bank-of-ireland-mortgage-rates-double-triple
I wonder if he plans on doing the same in Ireland as well???
He didn’t say anything about his near million Euro per year salary either??
Well they’re tackling their losses quite successfully by screwing their customers with new charges. A bill of €38 for account fees and another €25 for having an overdraft facility. Beware all BOI customers, fees statements on the way…. Good luck BOI, closing my accounts this week.
well that says a lot when u see Rathdrum closes at lunch time when most people are off.training on a wedensday morning still no manners could do with a training on how to deal with the public. hence i went to Arklow branch of A. I. B.
It is amazing that banks only open 10-4.30 with late opening on a Wednesday for ‘training’. Stand outside on a Wednesday morning and you can see them all slope in 5 minutes before opening!
They should really move with the times, at a minimum 9-6 with late opening on a Thursday & Friday and Saturday morning. They pay lip service to their customers, but reality is very different.
I think you fail to realise that bank officials do work between 9-6 and that when the bank is closed from 9-10 and 4-6 there is a hell of a lot of other work to be done and that if the doors opened from 9-6 as you’d like that would mean being in from 8-8, and not to mention branch and all frontline staff are overworked as it is and very underpaid unlike the top brass who caused the current problem
Why do people continue to use these twisted & corrupt Banks? Get away from them. Do your homework, there are other (Less $cumbag) banks out there you can use with none of these charges. Let this ship sink & stop chucking the water over the side with your buckets. The buckets are & will never big enough. Accept it & move on. Torpedo this wreck now!
Why would they bother making a profit.. taxpayer foots bill
Zombie Banks .
I am amazed the Boucher with all his arrogance is still in the top chair in BOI.
He was there throughout the years that the bank was engaged in practices that have led to its ruination.
I think its only fair to remember that the staff in the branches are also suffering these losses and targeting them by commenting on their manner or the opening times is not relevant to the thread and topics. Staff are right now worried about their pensions, while already suffering pay freezes/cuts, pension cuts and branch/holiday roster changes. Add to this that over the “boom” years the branch staff were rewarded with bank shares as their bonus’s etc which are all worth only a few cent now. Now while being hammered by management and slated by the public they continue to preform in their roles… but the cherry on top is that many only hear about changes or planned redundancies in the banks they work in VIA the media.
… and no, I don’t work for any bank.
may be they should r ember that the little person used to help pay there wages. no matter how you think they are dealing with the public .
No offense meant but, I can think of 64 billion reasons (and counting) why the public should get more respect than anyone working for corrupt/criminal institutions that have ruined millions of lives and ended tens of thousands prematurely.
Let us not forget that Hitler’s hand maidens were found guilty as well.
The only difference is that Hitler’s handmaidens faced, a firing squad if they refused the Fuhrer’s bidding.
No one was going to die if a bank employee refused to con people out of their life savings and resigned.
Banks are ran on greed at all levels.
The amount of local pensioners that have been conned out of their nest egg by greedy bankers (that have since been conveniently “transferred” to another branch) is disgusting.
I’m sure bank employees could find a better job to do,
a job that contributed to society, instead of taking away from it.
There are plenty of jobs in the credit unions these days for ex bankers if they want them (as long as they lose their filthy bad habits).
Gotta bring your wage bill down, i mean at the top. If Im waiting ages to get served because of lack of frontline staff then im switching banks. Oh probably did’nt help that I cancelled my credit card but you gave me a visa debit card as well so dont really need it, Haw HAw!
I wonder how much there going to add on to bank charges for the customers now to regain some of this money, robbing shower of bast####
Is Bank of Ireland one of the banks quoted here “Unease in Government over INM debt-relief moves” http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2013/0220/1224330267422.html
Is it one rule for ‘home-owners in arrears’ but debt write down bonanza time for millionaires all at the citizens expense ? Questions need answering !!
my thoughts exactly Gerard!!
Search down the back of the couch .
Yet another “Pillar Bank of SYSTEMIC Importance to the state”
is to big to fail! but not too big to accept MORE taxpayers money while treating the taxpayers like DIRT?
Ye can announce whatever losses you want. You got re capitalised. Ie. Pumped with billions and billions of taxpayers money. No more from irish taxpayers.
No mention of ‘buy to let’ arrears which the CBI has told them to fix fast and no more waiting.
Good news for all banks is that massive losses means no corporate tax due for many years once back in profit as losses can be offset..
So only €2b still owed
hope they are not going to increase or create new fees just to cover their mistakes. I am Tired paying taxes and fees again and again. We are the “slaves” of bankers or as we say in French ”nous sommes les vache à lait” des banquiers. My income is your income banker!!! why should i bother working ??
I am trying to figure out how all of the banks are reporting well below average mortgage arrears. At the same time, the Banks are gearing up for a wave of repossessions, or evictions as they are in effect.
No bank should be permitted repossessions unless or until 30 per cent of its total home residential mortgage book is in arrears. Then we would see the Banks reporting over 30 per cent arrears.
Wait for a full year of property tax, water charges and broadcasting charges combined with the further effect of austerity measures and reduced income.
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