The Northern Bank has posted a pre-tax loss of £71m in the first three quarters of the year.
This compares to a loss in the corresponding period in 2011 of £156m.
Profit before loan impairment charges stood at £52m but the bank wrote off £120m because of bad loans in the first nine months of year mainly due to property re-valuation.
Impairment charges in the Republic and Northern Ireland continue to be the biggest drain on the group’s finances.
Northern Bank chief executive Gerry Mallon said:
“ I am pleased with the underlying performance of the business which is moving in the right direction. We remain on track for our goal of returning to profitability.
“Profit has increased by 31 per cent on the same period last year. Although still at a high level, impairments are down 37 per cent on last year and underlying costs continue to fall.”
The Northern Bank is due to change its name that of its Danish parent company, Danske Bank later this month
Mr Mallon added:
“We believe this is a unique opportunity to create an even better bank for our customers. By becoming Danske
Bank in Northern Ireland, we will combine the financial strength and expertise of one of Northern Europe’s strongest financial institutions with the considerable
local expertise of our people and the strong relationships they have developed with our personal and business customers over many years.”
Danske Bank, has made a pre-tax profit of £676m so far this year.
Almost one in three Northern Bank customers are registered for eBanking and Mr Mallon said that customers were logging on over 700,000 times a month via their mobile, a 150 per cent increase in the last three months alone. He also said in response to direct feedback from customers, the bank had just launched a new iPad app, which is the first dedicated tablet banking app in the local market.