Northern Rock has reported a drop in the number of Irish savings accounts it held at the end of the first half of the year.

The British bank said yesterday that it had 21,755 Irish deposit accounts at the end of June, down from 22,500 at the half-year stage in 2003.

The total balance in its Irish operation at the end of June was €746 million, some 10 per cent less than the €820 million held at the same time in 2003. However, the average balance in the savings accounts rose by 3 per cent in the first six months to €34,286.

Northern Rock entered the Irish market five years ago and targeted the higher end of the market with savings products that paid a premium on standard deposit interest rates. It currently offers Irish savers between 1.85 per cent and 3 per cent per annum on minimum deposits of €1,000 for personal accounts and €10,000 for business accounts.

The bank, which is based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, reported a 14 per cent rise in first-half pre-tax profits to 200.3 million pounds yesterday.

"We are in good shape to continue to deliver strong operational and financial results going forward and remain comfortable with the average of consensus forecasts for 2004," chief executive Mr Adam Applegarth said.

The bank said its cost to income ratio fell to 30.3 per cent from 30.5 per cent in the first half while assets under management increased by nearly 10 per cent.