AIB said it today it has performed strongly in 2004 especially in its overseas divisions and is "comfortable" about meeting market profits forecasts.
In a trading update published today the AIB said it expects double-digit profit growth in constant currency terms. Market analysts expect AIB to report earnings per share of 125 cent when it delivers its annual results in February 2006.
AIB said its Polish operation is expected to deliver much stronger growth post restructuring and asset quality continues to improve.
In the United States the bank said the integration of Allfirst into M&T bank has "surpassed expectations" and is expected to post double-digit earnings growth.
In Ireland growth is being fuelled by broadly based demand in both the business and personal markets.
Despite recent bad publicity about overcharging, AIB said it is seeing strong growth in deposits of close to 15 per cent relative to market growth of 11 per cent. Loan growth is targeted to be around 25 per cent as economic growth gathers pace.
However, AIB said underlying net interest margin will reduce by around 0.25 per cent this year as lower margin loans are growing faster than deposits.
Though lending continues to grow at double-digit pace, AIB said asset quality remains strong and all key indicators for further credit growth are positive.