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(Alliance News) - Bank of Ireland Group PLC on Wednesday posted a big swing to loss for the first half of 2020 after incurring a sizeable impairment charge due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Shares in the Irish bank were trading 2.9% higher at EUR1.89 each at midday Wednesday in London.
For the six months ended June 30, Bank of Ireland posted a pretax loss of EUR822 million, swinging from a profit of EUR315 million the year prior. Net interest income was flat at EUR1.08 billion.
The bank blamed the loss on the pandemic, stating that it incurred an impairment charge of EUR937 million, with the charge including a EUR184 million adjustment related to payment breaks and EUR321 million from actual loan losses experienced during the six month period.
Looking forward, Bank of Ireland said its net interest income for the full year is expected to be around 5% lower than EUR2.15 billion recorded in 2019. It added that providing there is no further deterioration in the economic environment or outlook, it expects to book an impairment charge of between EUR1.1 billion to EUR1.3 billion for 2020.
The bank ended the first half with a a fully loaded Common Equity Tier 1 ratio of 13.6% and a regulatory CET1 ratio of 14.9%.
By Ife Taiwo; ifetaiwo@alliancenews.com
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