ICS Building Society, which is part of the Bank of Ireland group, has reported a 17 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to €79.9 million on the back of strong growth in mortgage lending last year.
During 2003 the ICS processed €4 billion in new mortgages for the society and for the Bank of Ireland group. It says it has grown its mortgage book by 27 per cent, ahead of the 25.5 per cent increase in the Irish mortgage market last year.
New mortgage advances rose by 26 per cent to €1.2 billion during last year, with net mortgage lending up 17.4 per cent to €727 million. The society's deposit book rose by 3.9 per cent to €2.58 billion in 2003.
Fees and commissions earned from its business rose by 26 per cent to €40 million, which is largely generated from processing and servicing mortgages for the Bank of Ireland group.
The ICS said the quality of its loan book remained very high and that arrears as a percentage of the mortgage book was down by 0.2 of a percentage point to 0.14 per cent. Its cost to income ratio also fell to 25 per cent, down 2.1 per cent.
ICS managing director, Mr Joe Larkin, said it was a strong performance and that when the society's book was combined with Bank of Ireland lending, the group was the biggest mortgage lender in the State.
"I am pleased that the growth experienced by ICS throughout the last year has been achieved in the context of continued prudent lending and has in no way impacted on the quality of our loan book," he said.
Mr Larkin said that demand for mortgages were strong in the first quarter of 2004. Some 30 per cent of new mortgages were taken out by first-time buyers and 25 per cent by investors.
