Ulster Bank today posted pre-tax profits of £388 million for last year in what was a rise of 20 per cent on 2005 figures.
The bank said mortgage lending rose by 26 per cent, but it said there was a more "subdued pace of expansion in the market" during the second half of the year due to interest rate rises.
Total income rose 15 per cent to £988 million, and loans and advances to customers grew by 28 per cent, while deposits were up 15 per cent on the previous year.
The bank's parent company, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), today posted a 14 per cent rise in 2006 underlying profit and said it would raise its full-year dividend by 25 per cent.
Europe's second biggest bank said 2006 operating profit reached a record £9.41 billion, up from £8.25 billion in 2005. RBS raised its 2006 full year dividend to 90.6 per cent, up by a quarter for the second successive year.