DANSKE Bank has been making a profit of around £2 million every week in Northern Ireland this year.
It has reported an operating profit of £75 million for the nine months to the end of September - up 8 per cent year-on-year as both customer lending and deposit volumes grew.
It also saw its loan impairments plummet from £38 million to £23 million, underlining a continuing recovery in property values and in the trading results of the Bank’s business customers.
And Danske - which operates 46 branches in Northern Ireland, where it has a staff of 1,400 - also continues to have a strong capacity to support new lending, as demonstrated by a loan-to-deposit ratio of 75 per cent at September 30.
But while the Brexit vote outcome hasn't caused a ripple so far, the bank did sound a note of caution, suggesting that the recent Bank of England decision to reduce its base rate by a quarter percentage point may have a negative impact on results going forward.
Danske's regional chief executive Kevin Kingston said: “We have continued to make good progress in quarter three.
"As the volume of new economic data grows, the EU referendum result appears, so far, not to have had a major effect on the Northern Ireland economy. UK consumer spending, business activity, house prices and wage growth have all beaten forecasts.
"UK unemployment reached an 11-year low and, locally, our exporting customers have been helped by the weaker value of sterling.
“However, the longer-term effects once the formal withdrawal negotiations begin and the exit itself takes place, remain to be seen."
He pointed to Danske's most recent quarterly sectoral forecast report suggesting that Northern Ireland’s economy will grow by 1 per cent this year and 0.5 per cent in 2017 - downwards revisions from 1.6 per cent and 1.9 per cent respectively.
“More challenging from the bank’s perspective is that we are now operating in a lower interest rate environment than we had anticipated," he added.
"Whilst interest rates had generally been expected to start rising during 2016, post the EU referendum it seems clear that we will now be operating in an environment of historically low interest rates for a prolonged period.
“Mortgage lending has remained healthy and we expect that to continue. There was a 63 per cent increase in mortgage approvals to customers in quarter three 2016 compared to the same period last year, and an uplift of 96 per cent year-on-year."
Danske revealed that since introducing a £500 cash back offer for switchers and start-ups in April, there has been an average of 40 new small business relationships established every week.
And to further build on that momentum, from this month new business centre customers who meet certain criteria will be able to benefit from Danske Bank also covering their arrangement fees, legal fees and valuation fees.
"Small and medium sized businesses are a key customer segment for the bank and we are delighted that year-on-year new lending volumes in this area are up 27 per cent," Mr Kingston said.
“On the corporate banking side, uncertainty around Brexit remains a factor. While we are not seeing business projects being cancelled as a result of the referendum vote, equally we are not seeing new projects being brought to us at the same rate as in the first half of the year.”
