Bank of Scotland (Ireland) today reported €157 million in pre-tax profits for 2003, up 36 per cent on the previous year.
The Bank said total assets grew by 17 per cent to €11.1 billion.
Loan advances to customers were up 17 per cent to €8.2 billion, while customer deposits increased 34 per cent to €4.53 billion.
Commenting on the results, chief executive Mr Mark Duffy said: "Our strategy of generating shareholder value while also providing customers with genuine choice and substantial savings demonstrates that competition pays."
"We have started the year with a flourish with record levels of work in progress, stable margins and strong deposit growth. These numbers keep the bank on target to become Ireland's number one business bank in 2005," he said.
Earlier, its UK parent company HBOS has reported a 29 per cent rise in profit, near the top of market expectations, and has predicted higher shareholder returns starting this year.
Pre-tax profit for 2003 rose to £3.77 billion from £2.91 billion a year earlier, the biggest mortgage lender said today.
"Two years' volume growth and efficiency gains will prove to be the foundations of higher shareholder returns in 2004 and beyond," chief executive Mr James Crosby said in the statement.
The bank said credit quality was stable.
Analysts expected profit of £3.72 billion, according to the median estimate of ten polled by Reuters. The range was £3.64 billion to £3.8 billion.
Additional reporting by Reuters