Ciaran Hancock, Finance Correspondent

The Irish Bank Officials Association increased its after-tax surplus by 163 per cent to €2.89 million due to "prudent management" of its overheads and changes to its investment portfolio, members were told at its biennial conference in Croke Park yesterday.

However, the deficit in its defined benefit pension scheme rose sharply to €3.9 million at the end of 2012 from €1.5 million a year earlier. The union recorded an actuarial loss of €2.4 million in 2012.

As a result of this, the union has engaged with its staff on changes to benefits from the scheme and it is being closed off to new joiners. In future, new recruits to the IBOA will be offered a defined contribution pension scheme.

The significant downsizing that took place in the banking industry last year was reflected in the IBOA’s membership statistics. Its subscription income fell by 3 per cent to €5.02 million as membership numbers declined to19,079 at the end of last December from 21,193 in 2011.

“After this date, there has been further deterioration in subs income as the fuller effects of voluntary severance and early retirement schemes have an impact,” Sharon McAuley, the IBOA’s honorary finance officer stated in her report.

The IBOA’s administration costs rose by 6 per cent to €3.6 million due to increased meeting activities, legal costs and spend on regulatory compliance and external advisers.

The union closed 2012 with €41.2 million in net assets, including its pension liability, up from €40.7 million a year earlier.