NEW lending by AIB was down 55 per cent in Northern Ireland during 2022, the bank’s latest annual report suggests.
The Irish lender, which previously traded in the north as First Trust, closed eight of its 15 northern branches at the end of 2021.
Publishing its first full year results since the branch closures, AIB rounded the value of new lending for Northern Ireland at around £200 million in 2022, down from around £400m in 2021.
The value of AIB UK current accounts declined by 25 per cent (£1.7bn) to £5.2bn last year, while net loans fell by 8 per cent to £6.2bn.
Deposits to AIB UK also declined by around £100 million (4 per cent) last year.
AIB UK encompasses the group’s retail and business lending operation in Northern Ireland and its operation in Britain, which has more of a focus on corporate banking.
Overall, AIB said the value of its customer accounts in the UK, declined by 19 per cent from £9.9bn in 2021 to £8.1bn at the end of 2022.
The report, published on Wednesday, appeared to make little or no reference to the impact of AIB’s decision to slash its Northern Ireland branch network in half just weeks before the start of 2022.
Instead, report states: “Customer accounts of £ 8.1bn at 31 December 2022 were £ 1.8bn lower primarily due to the group's decision to exit the SME (small medium enterprise) market in Great Britain and an increase in spending activity due to higher costs of living.”
The same report states that new lending in GB actually increased by 26 per cent last year to £1.1bn.
The report put the total number of active AIB UK customers, including Northern Ireland, at 279,000 during 2022. Its 2021 annual report had put the total number of AIB UK customers at 424,000, suggesting a drop of around 145,000.
It comes just one day after the Bank of Ireland’s 2022 report showed customer deposits to its retail business in the UK fell by £3.5 billion last year.
The lender, which cut its banking network in Northern Ireland from 28 branches to just 13 in 2021, recorded a 22 per cent decline in UK deposits from £15.8bn in 2021 to £12.3bn for 2022.
Overall, the entire AIB group posted a profit after tax of €765m (£681m) for 2022, up from €645m (£574m) in 2021.
AIB is the Republic’s largest mortgage lender and retains the largest banking network in the Republic with 170 outlets.
A backlash over its plans to withdraw cash services from 70 branches across the border last year forced the lender into a U-turn.
AIB, which is 57 per cent owned by the Irish state, said it will return €381m (£339m) to shareholders this year mostly through share buybacks, up from €213m (£190m) in 2021.
