The Irish subsidiary of the Belgian Banking group, KBC, has returned to full-year profitability and announced profits after tax and asset write-down costs of €75m for 2015. This compares with net losses of €91m in 2014.
KBC Bank Ireland says it attracted 74,000 new customer accounts during the year. The majority of these new customers opened new current accounts, though deposits also increased in value by more than 25% to €5.1bn during 2015.
The bank's variable rate mortgage for new and existing customers at 4.25% is certainly not the most competitively-priced on the market, but the bank says it grew its share of the home loan market to 14% during the past year.
It expanded its network, opening retail banking units in locations including Cork, Waterford, Naas, Kilkenny and Greystones and College Green in Dublin's city center. The bank now has 15 retail hubs.
Wim Verbraeken, KBC Bank Ireland's chief executive, said that the bank remains, "fully committed to working closely with customers in financial difficulties to try and establish a suitable resolution."