The bank’s new chief financial officer, Barry D’Arcy, had been its head of risk until last month. He said the tariff threat was factored into the bank’s projections for the year ahead, when it expects the Irish economy to continue to grow.
It will probably take until the end of 2025 to see the trade threat come through in consumer sentiment, he said.
While it remains unclear how and when the US administration will apply tariffs, he pointed to the resilience of the bank’s balance sheet and its insights into customers’ potential exposure to a trade slowdown including how many borrowers work at multinationals that might be affected.
“We have a good understanding of our underlying mix, where our customers were employed originally (when they got mortgages),” he pointed out.
He was commenting after the bank announced an underlying profit before tax for 2024 of €180m, up 8pc on the year before.
Total new lending last year was €2.6bn, up 19pc in the second half of the year versus the same period in 2023. New mortgage lending of €2.1bn was down on 2023 but almost doubled in the second half of last year versus the first six months.
The bank’s share of the mortgage market increased to 20.2pc in the last three months of last year.
PTSB also increased lending to SMEs, where total lending was up 16pc last year.
Customer deposits of €24.1bn were up 5pc on 2023.
CEO Eamonn Crowley said the bank had a strong business and financial performance last year.
“We are seeing continued organic growth in our balance sheet as our brand resonates in the market and attracts new customers to the bank. Our deposits have increased by almost €1.2bn, our new SME lending has increased by 28pc, and our share of the new mortgage lending market grew to 20.2pc in Q4 of 2024,” he said.
Today’s News in 90 Seconds – March 4th
Further job losses in less forward looking parts of the bank are likely to be through attrition, Mr Crowley said.
The bank, which has announced significant job cuts in recent months, announced what it called a refreshed Business Strategy 2025-27, focused on deepening customer relationships, diversifying income and differentiating through customer experience.
“We will do this while driving continuous operational efficiencies and prudent cost management so the bank can continue to grow and prosper in a sustainable manner while rewarding shareholders,” it said.
The financial results for 2024 show the bank’s total Income of €672m was up 1pc in the year and in line with guidance.
Net Interest Margin (NIM), the difference between what banks pay for money and what they lend at, was 2.2pc last year, down from 2.32pc.
In the key Irish mortgage market, PTSB said the market overall is growing again and is expected to rise from €12.6bn in 2024 to €13.9bn in 2025 and €15bn next year.
Meanwhile the bank is likely to follow AIB by targeting a so called ‘directed share buy back’ at the Department of Finance in a move that will cut taxpayers’ stake in the bank, which was bailed out during the financial crisis. The size of that buy back will depend on a decision by its regulator on how much capital the bank needs to hold against future potential losses. A share buy back will have to offer both the Irish government for some of its shares and to NatWest, which became a significant shareholder in PTSB under a deal to sell loans from its former Ulster Bank business in the Republic to the Irish bank.
