IRLBF---BKIR TRADING IN OTC IN NEW YORK (fka )

[Huggy Bear]

IRLBF at .35. Glad you held a core position here mlkr.

[mlkrborn]

still holding a core!

[mlkrborn]

Hanging in there?

[mlkrborn]

Any other news?

[biginvestors]

Bank of Ireland Stock Rating Upgraded by Deutsche Bank (IRE)
June 21st, 2013 - by Kyle Jackson

Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of Bank of Ireland (NYSE: IRE) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, TheFlyOnTheWall.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Analysts at Goldman Sachs downgraded shares of Bank of Ireland from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a research note to investors on Monday, June 10th. Analysts at HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Bank of Ireland in a research note to investors on Wednesday, June 5th. They set an underweight rating on the stock.

Shares of Bank of Ireland (NYSE: IRE) traded down 2.08% during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $8.02. Bank of Ireland has a 52 week low of $4.97 and a 52 week high of $10.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average is currently $9.39. The company’s market cap is $6.037 billion.

Bank of Ireland and its subsidiaries provide a range of banking and other financial services. It operates in five segments: Retail Republic of Ireland, Bank of Ireland Life, UK Financial Services, Capital Markets and Group Centre.

[biginvestors]

IMO RALLY NEXT WEEK for Bank of Ireland

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has played down the possibility that Ireland may apply to the euro zone’s ESM in order to recoup some of the money the State put into AIB and Bank of Ireland, saying there may be other options available.
Speaking in Luxembourg this morning, where he will chair a meeting of all 27 EU finance ministers, Mr Noonan pointed out that the two pillar banks may have increased in value by the time the ESM direct recapitalisation instrument is available.
“I don’t want to tie the future of the banks or the Irish banking system solely to the ESM,” he said. “We have two banks that will be in profit next year, we have two banks that will be operating and having practically a monopoly in a growing economy. That’s value and the markets will see there’s value there, so if we’re looking for potential purchasers we may not go down the ESM route, but it’s vital that we have the option still in place.”

link :
http://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/europe/noonan-plays-down-likelihood-of-applying-to-esm-to-recapitalise-banks-1.1437995

[mlkrborn]

Link?

[biginvestors]

Goldmann Sachs bought last days > 100 mln shares thats strange isn't it? They do it every time...after a downgrade they buy ?? lol

[mlkrborn]

This must be the reason for temporary pull bak: BKIR 0.16s in europe today: GSUX downgrade:
http://www.businesspost.ie/#!story/Home/News/Bank+of+Ireland+falls+after+Goldman+cuts+rating/id/19410615-5218-51b6-011a-e11169383605
Bank of Ireland continues to face operating headwinds, Goldman analysts said.
Bank of Ireland fell the most in more than two months in Dublin trading after Goldman Sachs Group cut its rating on the company’s stock to sell from neutral.
Bank of Ireland fell as much as 5 per cent to 17 cents in Dublin, the biggest intra-day decline since March 27th. Trading volume in the stock was 46 per cent of the average for the past three months at about 44.4 million shares.
In a note published today, Goldman Sachs said that the bank’s discount compared to European peers has closed this year and is now trading at 1 times estimated tangible book value, up from 0.6 times at the start of 2013.
“Despite better prospects for the Irish economy and progress on restructuring, the bank continues to face operating headwinds,” Goldman analysts said, adding it expects the bank only to reach break-even next year.
(reporting from Bloomberg)
.....

[biginvestors]

Bank of Ireland Says Interest Margins Improved in Early 2013
By Joe Brennan - Apr 24, 2013 9:58 AM GMT+0200 Facebook Share LinkedIn Google +1 0 Comments
Print QUEUEQ
Bank of Ireland Plc, the nation’s largest bank by assets, said lending margins continued to improve, following a rebound in the second half of 2012.

Costs from the Irish state’s banking guarantee, which was withdrawn last month, “will reduce quickly” and boost income this year, the Dublin-based bank said in a statement today. Bank of Ireland, which paid 388 million euros ($505 million) last year in guarantee fees, said deposits have been unaffected by the government’s move.

Bank of Ireland’s net interest margin, the difference between the rate at which it borrows and lends to customers, widened to 1.34 percent in the second half of last year from 1.20 percent in the previous six months, as the bank cut deposit rates and raised customers’ borrowing costs. Chief Executive Officer Richie Boucher, 54, cut the workforce by 9 percent to about 12,000 last year and shrank the lender’s loan book and central-bank reliance as bad-debt losses decreased.

Bank of Ireland’s “rebuilding of the net interest margin and the in-line performance on impairments is helpful,” Eamonn Hughes, an analyst at Dublin-based Goodbody Stockbrokers, said in a note. Still, the analyst said that stock has jumped 20 percent since he upgraded it to buy on March 6.

Bank of Ireland rose 1.8 percent to 17.4 euro cents at 8:57 a.m. in Dublin, having increased to as high as 17.5 cents. That’s the highest level in almost two years.

‘Positive Outlook’
The bank said it has shrunk its loan book to 90 billion euros and its loan-to-deposit ratio has fallen to 120 percent ahead of a year-end target set by the central bank. The bank’s loan book contracted 9 percent last year to 92.6 billion euros, as it sold and ran down some non-core loan portfolios.

Bank of Ireland’s loan-loss charge fell to 1.72 billion euros in 2012 from 1.94 billion euros a year earlier, marking a third straight year of decline, it said earlier this month.

Central bank funding has decreased to 11 billion euros, the bank said. It stood at 12 billion euros at the end of 2012.

“Although we expect the bank’s outlook is positive, at current levels, the bank is trading toward the top end of its pricing range in our view,” said Muna Muleya, an analyst at Dublin-based Merrion Capital.

To contact the reporter on this story: Joe Brennan in Dublin at [e-mail]

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Edward Evans at [e-mail]

[biginvestors]

Bank of Ireland will be the biggest mover ever this year.

I did my research !

[mlkrborn]

Today's News, March 28, 2013

7:39a
Moody's Says Irish Banks Are Very Well Capitalized, Doesn't Expect Irish Banks to Need More Capital (Benzinga)

[mlkrborn]

BANK OF IRELAND has sought to reduce its share capital to create a bigger pool of cash from which to pay the Government dividends in February and later years on the State’s €1.8 billion preference share investment in the bank. It will enable the bank to repay the preference shares in full.
The only Irish lender to avoid State control, it brought a petition to the Commercial Court seeking to reduce its share capital by €3.92 billion to €1.97 billion. The reduction, approved by shareholders in June and by the Minister for Finance, will not affect the regulatory capital of the bank, Paul Sreenan SC said.
Bank of Ireland chief executive Richie Boucher said in an affidavit that the reserve will be treated as profits available for distribution and is intended to ensure the bank has sufficient reserves, after accounting for possible losses, to be able to pay dividends.
The bank sought the full €3.92 billion authorised under a measure approved by shareholders to ensure the bank had a buffer available to protect it from volatile markets.
The Government bailed out the bank in 2009 with a €3.5 billion investment by way of preference shares. The State converted almost €1.7 billion of this into equity shares in a rights issue to raise further capital in 2010. The bank was due to pay a coupon, or annual interest payment, on the shares to the State in February 2010 but instead paid in equity.
The State received a dividend of €214 million in February 2011 and €188 million last February. The next dividend is due on February 20th. Under the first State bailout of the bank, the lender must repay the €1.8 billion preference shares by March 31st, 2014 or else pay 125 per cent of this amount.

[clydesur]

Moving up nicely .25 hit

IRLBF

[mlkrborn]

BKIR 0.132 EURO.
ADDED to both IRE and IRLBF .
two developments at work: Govt ending bank guarantee program; Subordinate bond losers will legally challenge banks for compensation for their loses.
Here is the article for the first news:
Government to end bank guarantee on 28th March
12:55, 26 February 2013 by Post Reporter

Finance minister Michael Noonan.
The Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has announced that the Bank Guarantee will end for all new liabilities from midnight on the 28th March 2013.
The announcement came following a decision by the Cabinet earlier today. Noonan commented to reporters that the removal of the guarantee will not lead to a capital flight from Irish banks.
Read the government's full statement here.
After 28th March, no new liabilities will be guaranteed under the Eligible Liabilities Guarantee Scheme (ELG) Scheme, as it is known. The ending of the ELG for new liabilities after the 28th of March 2013 marks a significant step in the normalization of Ireland’s banking system, said a statement from the Department of Finance.
The statement stressed that today’s announcement does not impact the vast majority of bank customers as their deposits are covered by the Deposit Guarantee Scheme or DGS – a separate guarantee which has been in operation in Ireland since 1995 and is part of an EU-wide arrangement for deposit protection.
“The Irish banking system failed the Irish people and the mismanagement of the banks and the crisis has cost the Irish taxpayer €62 billion,” finance minister Michael Noonan said. “All of the Government actions since taking office in March 2011, both at home and abroad, are designed to repair this damage and break the negative link between the banks and the State. We are making significant progress in this regard and the ending of the Guarantee for new liabilities marks another step forward.”
In a statement, AIB welcomed the decision which it said further demonstrates the ongoing improvement in the stability of the financial system in Ireland. The bank said that its funding position has continued to improve due to customer deposit flows, progress in deleveraging, together with successful returns to the funding markets both in 2012 and January 2013.
“The ELGS was introduced as a measure to stabilise the financial system at a time of unprecedented market turbulence, which is no longer evident," said AIB chief executive David Duffy. "We welcome the announcement today and expect that this move will have a positive impact on the operating performance of AIB over time as the bank returns to long term sustainability.”
…

[mlkrborn]

One downgrade: BKIR 0.136 euro. IRLBF Should be araound $0.175 at most.IRE $8.34 still manipulated.
Bank of Ireland Cut to Underperform From Neutral by Credit Suisse
Last update: 2/6/2013 1:53:50 AM
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 06, 2013 01:53 ET (06:53 GMT)

[clydesur]

IRLBF @ .21 Hit and going higher

Look at IRE

[clydesur]

bank of ireland (IRLBF) Key Developments
The Governor and Company of The Bank of Ireland Appoints Michael Torpey as Chief Executive of the Corporate and Treasury Division and as a Member of the Group Executive Committee
Jan 17 13

The Governor and Company of The Bank of Ireland has appointed Michael Torpey as chief executive of its corporate and treasury division. He will also serve as a member of the group executive committee and is expected to take up his post at the bank around the end of March. Mr. Torpey will join the bank from the Department of Finance, where he is head of the shareholder management unit. Mr. Torpey joined the department in May 2010 having held a senior position within the National Treasury Management Agency. The corporate and treasury division in Bank of Ireland had been led on an acting basis by Denis Donovan who combined the role with that as head of its group non-core division. Mr. Donovan will continue to lead the non-core division, which is responsible for deleveraging and restructuring initiatives within the bank.

[mlkrborn]

BKIR 0.135 EURO; IRE $7.78 SELLING NOTES GOOD SIGN!
Irish Fin Min: Sale of CoCo Notes in Bank of Ireland Positive Sign
Last update: 1/9/2013 4:34:37 AM
By Eamon Quinn
DUBLIN--Ireland's plan to sell a large part of a 1 billion euro ($1.3 billion) holding in contingent capital, or CoCo, notes in Bank of Ireland PLC is a sign that the country's banking system is on the mend, said the Irish government Wednesday.
The notes are debt securities which can be converted to equity if the bank's capital falls below a certain ratio or if a "stress event" occurs.
Dublin plans to sell at least EUR500 million of its EUR1 billion holding of the notes to private investors. It injected the money into Bank of Ireland as emergency capital in 2011, at the height of the country's banking crisis.
"The successful exit from a large portion of this position represents another step along the road to normalizing the state's relationship with the banking sector and reflects positively on the progress being made in returning our banks to a position of strength," Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan said in a statement.
Ireland has been forced to pump EUR64 billion--equivalent to about 40% of its annual economic output--into its banking system to keep it from collapse over the last five years.
Bank of Ireland, which has made the most progress in returning to health, was the only Irish lender to avoid outright nationalization during the country's crisis. The government still owns a 15% stake in the lender.
The bank said it had hired Davy Stockbrokers, Deutsche Bank and UBS to help sell at least EUR500 million of the CoCo notes, which mature in July 2016 and pay an annual coupon of 10%, through a placing on the secondary market.
Write to Eamon Quinn at [e-mail]
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 09, 2013 04:34 ET (09:34 GMT)

[mlkrborn]

The ECB will be the regulator of banks with assets of more than €30bn, or banks constituting at least one fifth of their home country’s GDP. The thresholds were chosen to include the three biggest banks in each country. The estimates last night range from a total number of 150 to 200 banks in the eurozone.
The ECB can intervene in smaller banks (under a procedure that has yet to be made known, or yet to be worked out)
The governance structure will consist of a separate supervisory body, the ECB governing council as final arbiter, and a steering committee to solve disagreement.
Agreement to be finalised in February 2013 – as this requires support from the European parliament. The single supervisory mechanism (SSM) kicks in March 2014.
The EBA will continue to be in charge of harmonising rules at EU-level, and there will be safeguards for the non-eurozone members through a double majority – one inside the banking union, one outside.
No direct bank recapitalisation by the ESM until at least 2014.

[Huggy Bear]

Thanks for the news mlkr, although it is nothing to crow about for BKIR/IRE/IRLBF investors.

[mlkrborn]

No forgiveness for home owners: 0.1170 cents today
http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/no-debt-forgiveness-for-homeowners-says-bank-of-ireland-3327511.html

[mlkrborn]

Member states give the ECB policing power. Finance ministers signed it. FKIR pulled back little today. Has to cough money in piggy bank. Support @ 0.1180 broke down.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/dec/13/eurozone-crisis-live-breakthrough-deal-banking-union#block-50c98a10b579d49737370ef3

[Huggy Bear]

Thanks for the info.

[mlkrborn]

Volume spike on dec 6 2012:
A poster ACLAW took note of it: 40 m shares trade for IRLBF! Must be short squeeze in part at least!
BKIR pull back a bit to 0.12 c. along with all euro banks with resignation of Italian PM today.
Buying back.

"Bank of Ireland volume trading: Dec 06 2012 ~ 168.6 million shares traded.
no news for this trading. unusual volume for this type of daily activity.

BKIR: 96.5 million shares traded (euros)
IRLBF: 40 million shares traded ( USD)
IRE: 32.1 million shares traded - 805,000 units x 40 = 32.2 million (USD).

http://xml.10kwizard.com/filing_raw.php?repo=tenk&ipage=8596179
Fidelity Management - FMR owns 8% of Bank of Ireland 12/06/12."

[Huggy Bear]

6.30.

For a brief period IRE was actually at discount to BKIR.L instead of at a premium. For the moment we actually have relative parity.

Its been very wierd and informative for me, watching this action closely across the exchanges for years. Personally I am out of IRLBF shares for awhile as I have never succeeded in buying back cheepies, which are the only ones I bother to go after.

Good ole IRE is looking real sweet, especially in this season.

[mlkrborn]

Malc;
Sorry didnt notice this before.
Difficult to buy or sell IRLBF as we both know.
But today i was able to sell a large chunk while still holding a core as long term investment. It must be short pricks forced to buy my shares or wiser guys who saw an upside potential even at these prices.. How does IRE conversion translate into BKIR shares @ 0.12 c. now?
My buy orders in already.. But may buy IRE instead for liquidity easement.

[Huggy Bear]

mlkr - Have you tried to get any cheepies here lately? Volume sporadic at best and I tried to scalp some .10's not too long ago, no dice.

Ive only traded this once before, it took forever to get my starter blocks and even longer it seemed to unload them when I wanted to.

I dont have any idea on the skinny on who gets their order filled and who does not. My blocks bid were not too big nor small I dont think, but couldnt get any bites on approx. 500 dollar blocks except for that one time.

Occasionally we see some IRLBF go off at around a 30% discount to BKIR, and those are the shares I try to snag.

[mlkrborn]

I didnt think so either but just checking . Inserting a live chart gives you a life time tenure, but if no post for a while you are gone. Very strange. what is happening with your active board.
Happy Thnxgiving.
mlkr

[Huggy Bear]

A bit of older news, but definetly encouraging IMO to see BKIR back to raising money via bond issuances. Im still accumlating while the opportunity to get these very discounted shares still exists.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-13/bank-of-irleand-back-in-bond-market-as-loan-losses-ease.html?cmpid=yhoo

[Huggy Bear]

No heck no, mlkr, I must have been deleted for absense of recent posts I suppose. I guess I have to post a minimum number of posts even if nothing is really going on of major significance in the current moment.

[mlkrborn]

Malc; Did u guit on me here as moderator?

[mlkrborn]

At the Bell
Out-of-favour Bank of Ireland piques savvy trio’s interests Add to ...

MARTIN MITTELSTAEDT

The Globe and Mail

Published Sunday, Oct. 28 2012, 7:00 PM EDT

Last updated Sunday, Oct. 28 2012, 7:55 PM EDT
1 comment


When three of the world’s savviest investors plunk down serious money on a former blue chip that has sunk to penny stock status, it may pay to take notice.

The stock in question is Bank of Ireland, which trades for all of 9.4 euro cents a share, a depressed valuation that is a legacy of Europe’s financial crisis and Ireland’s real estate implosion.
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The investors in question include a pair of well-known Canadian financial heavyweights – Prem Watsa, head honcho at Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd., and hedge fund manager Albert Friedberg. The trio is rounded out by Wilbur Ross, the U.S. investor famed for spotting troubled, but salvageable companies, buying in big time at distressed prices, and then making a killing when they recover.

Just what do they see in Ireland’s oldest bank, of which they’ve bought hundreds of millions of shares from the 30 billion outstanding?

The Irish bank looks like one of those classic opportunities the stock market regularly offers, allowing investors to scoop up $1 value for only 50 cents or even less. In this case, the bargain is even greater than 50 per cent because the shares have a book value of 22 euro cents each.

One way to get a sense of the value on offer is to compare the Bank of Ireland with Royal Bank of Canada. RBC trades for more than double book, meaning that investors are paying $2 to get $1 worth of bank equity, while Bank of Ireland changes hands for less than half of book.

By this metric, investors are getting control of four times more book value for an equivalently sized investment in Bank of Ireland than in RBC. In a bullish scenario, there is tremendous upside from Bank of Ireland.

RBC does have some obvious advantages, such as a 4.2 per cent dividend yield, while its Irish counterpart is too strapped to pay anything. RBC also isn’t 15 per cent owned by government, as is Bank of Ireland, a legacy of its near-death experience during the crisis. RBC has the not-inconsiderable advantage of actually making money, while Bank of Ireland is mired in losses.

But therein lies the appeal for contrarian value investors. RBC may be overloved by the Street, the Bank of Ireland underloved. Among the 10 analysts who follow the latter, there are no “buy” recommendations, six “holds” and four “sells.” RBC’s analyst following is eight buys, nine holds, and two sells.

For North Americans, Bank of Ireland stock is available through U.S. traded American depositary receipts. Each ADR represents ownership of 40 bank shares and trades for $5.44 (U.S.).

Fairfax didn’t want to comment on the record. Mr. Friedberg couldn’t be reached, although he mentioned the stock favourably earlier this year in a conference call with clients.

Now, if making big money on the market were as easy as buying a depressed stock or two at a huge discount, everyone would be as rich as our savvy trio.

It’s obviously far harder than that. When buying out-of-favour securities, value investors often have to do some serious sweating before they know if their thesis is correct. And that is where Bank of Ireland now stands as an investment.

On the plus side, the shares are a bargain by the book value metric. The bank is also well capitalized, with little danger of insolvency. Ireland is a country is on the mend and its citizens have taken the bitter capitalist medicine of fiscal austerity without the howls of protest common in southern Europe.

At some point, Ireland will be prosperous again, turning the bank from a money loser to a money maker. That’s the bet, and when you’re controlling lots of book value bought at a discount, serious upside will be yours if it all works out.

Why wouldn’t it? The big knocks against the bank are that loan losses are rising again and profit margins on lending are shrinking. First-half results were well below expectations. Among the doubters is Ireland’s Goodbody, a brokerage firm. It expects the bank to endure losses for the next couple of years that will erode its book value down to 15 euro cents a share, hardly bullish for the stock. Goodbody’s share price target: 8 euro cents.

My assessment: the recent deterioration in financial results indicate Mr. Watsa et al. are too early on this one. They’ll make money eventually, but it will be a long, hard slog.
Security Price Change
RY-T Royal Bank of Canada 57.59 0.19
0.331% Add to watchlist

[mlkrborn]

You are here: Home > Business > Irish
Rating agency Fitch revises upwards its outlook on Ireland to stable
PRINT EMAIL NORMALLARGEEXTRA LARGE9 0 0
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Also in Irish




And competitor Fitch also revised upwards its outlook for Ireland to stable from negative.

Fitch affirmed its rating for Ireland at BBB+, but upgraded the outlook to stable

It expects the 2012 deficit to be close to the target of 8.6pc of GDP.

Moody's, in its annual report on the Irish state finances, reiterated its "Ba1" credit rating for the country but said Ireland is benefiting from a "relatively predictable policy framework, commitment to fiscal consolidation and structural reforms", and the fact that it has hit all of the objectives set by the EU/IMF/ECB.

The rating agency said the country benefits from a business-friendly tax environment and a flexible workforce that have helped regain lost competiveness but risks remain because of the eurozone debt crisis.

Ireland is seen to be making progress in returning to debt markets and meeting its fiscal targets.

It all means Moody's no longer sees any risk of "Greek style" losses for holders of Irish government bonds.

However, the agency has not lifted its Irish rating back above so called "junk" status and says the outlook is still negative.

That negative outlook reflects the risk that austerity measures may not be fully followed through, especially because of the weakness in the Irish economy. It is also driven by the ongoing "debt crisis" in the wider euro area, which remains a significant risk.

- Donal O'Donovan

[mlkrborn]

Interim Management Statement

RNS

RNS Number : 9401Q
Bank of Ireland(Governor&Co)
13 November 2012

?

The Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland (The Bank of Ireland)
Interim Management Statement

13 November 2012

Trading Update

As expected, and despite the ongoing pressure arising from exceptionally low official interest rates, the Group's Net Interest Margin has started to be positively impacted by the actions taken by the Group to reduce the cost of deposits and other funding and to improve charge rates on loan assets where commercially appropriate and possible.

The Group has continued to reduce its pay rates on customer deposits in the Irish domestic market and deposit volumes have remained resilient. There are signs that key competitors have begun to reduce their pay rates. In addition, following some easing of competitive intensity in the UK deposit market, the Group has been able to reduce the rate it pays to attract new deposits and to retain existing deposits on roll-over in that market. Since 30 June 2012, the Group has transferred loan assets amounting to €2.8 billion to BOI UK plc which has facilitated greater balance sheet efficiencies, with consequent reductions in wholesale funding and the reduction of lower yielding liquid assets.

Further progress has been made on disengaging from the exceptional Eligible Liabilities Guarantee Scheme (ELG). Total liabilities covered by the ELG reduced from €36 billion at 30 June 2012 to less than €28 billion in November 2012 reflecting the reduction in wholesale funding from the loan asset transfers to BOI UK plc, some further reductions in ELG covered wholesale funding from deleveraging activities and growth in non ELG covered deposits. We have prepared for and are ready for the expiry of the ELG.

Operating costs remain under tight control with our cost reduction initiatives delivering sustainable cost savings. Staff numbers are reducing in line with our expectations and we expect that the restructuring provision of €66 million taken at 30 June 2012 will be fully utilised by year-end.


Asset Quality

Although the Irish Economy has begun to stabilise, challenging conditions remain.

We continue to actively focus on credit quality and our exposures to the Irish SME sector and our Irish Mortgage book continue to be key priorities. With regard to our Irish Mortgage book, the pace of arrears formation has continued to reduce and we have continued to formally restructure and modify a significant number of customer mortgages on a sustainable basis. 86% of those customers whose mortgages are currently in formal restructure or modification are fully meeting their revised arrangements.
Our international corporate, unsecured consumer and UK mortgage books have continued to perform relatively well and in line with our expectations.

We maintain our expectation that impairment charges will reduce from the elevated levels experienced in 2011, trending over time towards a more normalised impairment charge as the domestic economy recovers, with the pace of reduction particularly dependent on the performance of our Irish residential mortgage book and of commercial real estate markets.


Funding

The Group has made further progress towards its deleveraging targets with its Loan to Deposit ratio reducing from 136% at June 2012 to less than 130% in November 2012.

Ongoing redemptions and repayments on our loan assets remain in line with our expectations. Customer deposits continue to grow and amount to €74 billion in November 2012 as compared with €71.7 billion at 30 June 2012.

Wholesale funding in November 2012 is €44 billion a reduction of €8 billion compared to June 2012 due to deposit growth, the impact of the transfer of assets to BOI UK plc and ongoing asset deleveraging. The reduction in wholesale funding includes Monetary Authority drawings of €21 billion which have reduced from €28 billion in June 2012. Wholesale funding is expected to continue to reduce in the coming months.


Capital

The Group continues to assess the significant impacts on its capital ratios arising from the phased transition to the Basel III capital framework and to develop the range of potential mitigation strategies available to it with respect to such items. Clarification is awaited from regulatory authorities on a number of material technical and other items which could increase the Group's expected loss adjustments and its level of Risk Weighted Assets in relation to any requirement to make credit valuation adjustments for derivatives with corporate counterparties. In addition, clarification from regulatory authorities on the calculation of risk weightings for SMEs could reduce the Group level of Risk Weighted Assets. Since 30 June 2012, the discount rate used under IAS 19 to discount the Group's defined benefit pension fund liabilities has reduced such that, despite an increase in asset values, the deficit has increased by €0.6 billion to €1.6 billion. The Group is actively considering actions and mitigants with respect to the Pension deficit. In addition and partly offsetting the Pension deficit increase, the improved funding conditions for the Irish sovereign has benefited the value of the Group's Available for Sale ("AFS") portfolio such that the AFS Reserve improved by €0.5 billion since 30 June 2012 to a positive value of €0.1 billion currently.

The Group's Core Tier 1 ratio (PCAR/EBA basis) was 13.9% at end October 2012.


Ends


For further information please contact:

Bank of Ireland
Andrew Keating Group Chief Financial Officer [phone]
Tony Joyce Head of Group Investor Relations [phone]
Dan Loughrey Head of Group Communications [phone]

[mlkrborn]

Reported; Interim management report link. BKIR 0.09 in london.
http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4483033

[mlkrborn]

Euro zone policies helping banks of Ireland and Greece:
http://ih.advfn.com/p.php?pid=nmona&article=52983562

[mlkrborn]

UPDATE 4-Bank of Ireland raises 1 bln eur in "milestone" issue

Reuters - UK Focus – 2 hours 32 minutes ago
Email

Print
Companies:
IRELANDBANK OF IRELANDIMF (AUSTRALIA)
RELATED QUOTES
Symbol Price Change
* Bank raises 1 bln euros, further issues may be on the way
* Irish fin min calls issue milestone for country's lenders
* Bank says making progress on net interest margin, deposits up,
* Shares up 1 pct
By Padraic Halpin and Laura Noonan
DUBLIN/LONDON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Bank of Ireland (Xetra: 853701 - news) on Tuesday raised 1 billion euros ($1.27 billion) in its most significant bond issue in over three years, a move the country's finance minister described as a milestone for Ireland (Xetra: A0Q8L3 - news) 's battered banking sector.
Hammered by the bursting of a gigantic property bubble, Ireland and its banks were locked out of capital markets two years ago, forcing the state into an international bailout and lenders to turn to the European Central Bank (ECB) for funding.
After the government began its gradual market return in July, Bank of Ireland followed suit with a 3-year, non-state backed covered bond, raising the fresh funds against an order book of 2.5 billion euros.
"Today is an important milestone on the path to full independence for our banks," finance minister Michael Noonan said in a statement, adding that he understood 98 pct of interest in the bond issue came from foreign investors.
"This issuance is further evidence of the strengthening and normalisation of our banking system."
The bank, which also said in a trading update on Tuesday that it was starting to benefit from lower funding costs and a steadier economy, called the issue a key step in its strategy to return to a more sustainable and normalised funding position.
The bank will use the funds to reduce its borrowings from the ECB which stand at 21 billion euros, a source with knowledge of the bank's plans told Reuters. ECB borrowings are secured against a range of collateral, including between 5 and 6 billion euros of the kind of mortgages used in Tuesday's transaction.
A source with knowledge of the situation said the bank could in time eliminate more of its ECB borrowings by funding those mortgages in the market instead of at the ECB. He declined to be drawn on the timing of any future issues.
Swapping ECB funding for private investors will hurt the bank's net interest margin - since ECB funding is far cheaper - but will help the bank in its goal to return to a sustainable funding base, one source said.
The bond, priced at mid swaps + 270bps, was the first public covered issuance of its type without the help of a government guarantee since September 2009.
"BOI's return to non-guaranteed public market funding is a further sign of balance sheet recovery and investor confidence in the bank," said Stephen Lyons of Davy Stockbrokers.
At 1530 GMT, Bank of Ireland shares were up 1 percent at 0.094 euros.
CHALLENGES REMAIN
After becoming the first Irish lender to meet a deleveraging target set under the country's EU/IMF (Other OTC: IMFAF.PK - news) bailout, Bank of Ireland is focusing on restoring profitability and said in a trading update on Tuesday that it was also making progress on that front by cutting costs, reducing deposit rates and increasing margins.
"As expected, and despite the ongoing pressure arising from exceptionally low official interest rates, the group's net interest margin has started to be positively impacted by the actions taken," it said, without giving further details.
The only Irish lender to avoid full state control after the property crash, Bank of Ireland has nevertheless seen its margins squeezed, particularly due to the cost of taking in deposits by having to offer high interest rates to attract them and by paying a fee to the state to guarantee them.
Even when guarantee costs were excluded, the bank's net interest margin - the gap between what it charges for loans and what it pays to borrow - fell 13 basis points to 1.2 percent in the first half of the year, raising a question mark over its goal to reach 2 percent by 2014.
The 15 percent state-owned lender said on Tuesday it was starting to benefit from lower funding costs, including paying less to attract a rising number of deposits.
"Although the Irish economy has begun to stabilise, challenging conditions remain," it added.
Those include the number of homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages, although Bank of Ireland said the pace in growth of mortgage arrears had continued to reduce, making it confident that impairment charges would also fall.
It added that its customer deposits had risen 3 percent to 74 billion euros, helping further trim its loan to deposit ratio to less than 130 percent from 136 percent in June.

[mlkrborn]

is Ireland a special case? Merkel thinks so:
http://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/national-news/ireland-a-special-case-merkel-3266686.html

[mlkrborn]

Irish banks' reliance on emergency funding eases in August

Updated: 18:37, Friday, 14 September 2012
inShare

New Central Bank figures show that Irish banks' reliance on emergency funding fell in August.
Central Bank figures show that Irish mortgage holders paying less interest than euro zone counterparts
Central Bank figures show that Irish mortgage holders paying less interest than euro zone counterparts

The Central Bank figures show that outstanding loans fell to €120 billion from €122 billion in July.

The Central Bank figures show that banks had €79.1 billion in outstanding loans from the European Central Bank as of the end of August, down from €80 billion in July.

Emergency loans from the Central Bank declined to €40.8 billion from €41.6 billion.

Irish banks are heavily dependent on loans from the ECB and the Central Bank to run their operations. Under the EU/IMF programme they must shrink their balance sheets to ease that reliance, which peaked at €187 billion in February 2011.

Seperate Central Bank figures show that interest rates on outstanding mortgage loans fell by 12 basis points at the end of July to stand at 2.86%.

This compares to an euro average of 3.72% and the Central Bank said the lower Irish rate is due to the fact that Ireland has a higher proportion of tracker and other variable rate mortgage products than its euro zone counterparts.

The figures also show that interest rates on deposits fell slightly in July to stand at 3.6%. Interest rates on deposits had increased significantly in 2011 and the early part of 2012 which reflected efforts by Irish banks to secure additional funding by offering ''attractive rates'' on longer term deposit rates.

[mlkrborn]

The Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland (BIR.DB) said Friday that its U.K. subsidiary will buy the Post Office Ltd's shareholding in Midasgrange Ltd, the current joint venture company, for a cash consideration of circa 3 million pounds.

MAIN FACTS:

-The relationship will move to a direct Bank / Post Office relationship with the Post Office continuing to be primarily responsible for product sales and marketing and Bank of Ireland continuing to be primarily responsible for product development and delivery.

-In addition, certain amendments will be made to Post Office commission rates and the contract term will be extended to a minimum of 2023.

-These new arrangements are expected to become effective in September 2012.

[mlkrborn]

Irish voters back fiscal treaty in referendum
Yes vote bolsters confidence in government’s funding position
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By William L. Watts, MarketWatch

FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) — Policy makers from Brussels to Berlin, not to mention Dublin, likely breathed a big sigh of relief Friday as tallies indicated Irish voters backed a new European Union treaty aimed at forcing national governments to respect the region’s budget rules.

With all constituencies reporting, the final tally saw the “yes” vote at 60.3% versus 39.7% voting “no” in the referendum, according to broadcaster RTE. Turnout was low by Irish standards at 50.6%.

Voters went to the polls on Thursday. Counting began Friday morning and is expected to conclude later in the day.
Click to Play
Europe's week ahead: ECB, PMIs

A look ahead to the market-moving events for the week beginning 4 June. Including ECB rate announcement on Wednesday and services and composite PMI from Germany and France. Sara Sjolin and Ishaq Siddiqi run us through the week's events. Photo: Getty Images

The Irish government campaigned hard in favor of the referendum. Failure to approve the pact would have left Ireland, which received an €85 billion ($104.7 billion) bailout in 2010, unable to further tap the euro-zone rescue fund.

“Clearly, a ‘yes’ vote will be key in bolstering confidence in the Irish government’s funding position, given that access to the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) fund is conditional on ratification,” said Conall Mac Coille, an economist at Davy in Dublin.

Ireland’s ISEQ General Index XX:IEGI -2.33% fell 1.6% as European and U.S. equities tumbled in the wake of rising worries about the global economic outlook. The yield on 10-year Irish government bonds IE:10YR_IRE +0.81% rose 0.06 percentage point to 7.45%, according to electronic trading platform Tradeweb.

Economists said that a “no” vote could have triggered further contagion.

But with investors focused on Spain’s faltering attempts to shore up its troubled banks and the potential ramifications of a Greek exit from the euro zone, the scope for relief was limited.

“A ‘yes’ is well priced in,” wrote strategists at UBS.

[mlkrborn]

Election Results Threaten Europe's Plan for Recovery - Lloyds and Bank of Ireland Shares Fall
8:20a ET May 10, 2012 (Market Wire)

After a surprising start to the year European financial stocks have fallen sharply. Recent political election results in Greece and France have threatened Europe's plan for economic recovery. The iShares MSCI Europe Financials Sector Index Fund (EUFN) -- which is designed to measure the combined equity market performance of the financial sector of developed market countries in Europe -- has dropped over 13 percent in the last three months. The Paragon Report examines investing opportunities in the Foreign Banking Industry and provides equity research on Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE: LYG) and Bank of Ireland (NYSE: IRE)

Access to the full company reports can be found at: www.ParagonReport.com/LYG

www.ParagonReport.com/IRE

With concerns that Europe's problems could intensify, the nation's largest banks have been hoarding their cash at central banks. According to analysis done by the Wall Street Journal, Europe's largest banks have stored roughly $1.2 trillion in cash at central banks around the world, a 66 percent increase from the end of 2010. Banks have decided to store their money in central banks to allow them easy access to funds just in case they are faced with emergency situations.

Paragon Report releases regular market updates on the Foreign Banking Industry so investors can stay ahead of the crowd and make the best investment decisions to maximize their returns. Take a few minutes to register with us free at www.ParagonReport.com and get exclusive access to our numerous stock reports and industry newsletters.

Lloyds Banking Group plc provides various banking and financial services to personal and corporate customers primarily in the United Kingdom. The company posted a full-year net loss of $4.41 billion as it pushed back a key earnings target, citing a gloomy U.K. macroeconomic outlook and increased regulatory uncertainty. HSBC has recently agreed to acquire Lloyds' operations in the United Arab Emirates.

The Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland provides banking and other financial services to small and medium-sized commercial and industrial companies in Ireland and internationally. The Bank of Ireland believes it is in a better position this year. By the end of December 2011, it had fully exited the costly emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) offered by Ireland's central bank and reduced its dependency on European Central Bank funding to 23 billion euros from 33 billion a year earlier.

Paragon Report provides Market Research focused on equities that offer growth opportunities, value, and strong potential return. We strive to provide the most up-to-date market activities. We constantly create research reports and newsletters for our members. The Paragon Report has not been compensated by any of the above-mentioned companies. We act as independent research portal and are aware that all investment entails inherent risks. Please view the full disclaimer at: www.ParagonReport.com/disclaimer

SOURCE: Paragon Financial Limited

[mlkrborn]

Malc; Yep! have to wait high volume days unfortunately to replace them with IRE shares. This is one those cases of very long term holds.

GL
mlkr

[Huggy Bear]

IRLBF now below instrinsic worth of BKIR, nice add. I hope your shares are more liquid than mine.

[mlkrborn]

Added!

[Huggy Bear]

And once again Happy St. Patricks day to you as well mlkr.

Wow, IRLBF has had some serious swings lately eh? I should not have sold my shares so cheap, oh well.

[mlkrborn]

Happy St. Patrick day.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/taoiseach-releases-st-patricks-day-message-543869.html

[mlkrborn]

Bank investor expects to triple cash in few years
Related
The Irish Times - Monday, February 20, 2012

NIAMH SWEENEY in Palm Beach

WILBUR ROSS, the US investor who bought 9 per cent of Bank of Ireland last year, has said he expects to more than triple his money in the next few years.

Mr Ross told the annual winter meeting of the Ireland-US Council in Palm Beach, Florida, that he expects the bank – which reports its 2011 results today – to sell for roughly three times its current market value once economic conditions improve in Ireland.

“In a couple of years when the loan portfolio and the economy have been cleaned up, we believe that the largest bank in an economy as healthy as Ireland’s then would sell at 1½-times book value,” he said at the prestigious Beach Club in Palm Beach.

Mr Ross and his co-investors bought 35 per cent of the bank’s shares at 10 cent each – less than 40 per cent of book value. Bank of Ireland shares finished trading on Friday at 14 cent a share. Mr Ross believes the company’s book value is closer to 26 cent a share.

Speaking following his Palm Beach address, Mr Ross reiterated his support for the bank’s chief executive, Richie Boucher, in the face of a forthcoming “fitness and probity” test by the Central Bank. The test will seek to determine the extent of Mr Boucher’s involvement in the events that led to the banking crisis. “We think he’s the right person to be running the bank at this point in time. We also think it’s important for the country to be looking forward rather than just looking backward.

“There was plenty of blame to go around for all sorts of things that were done wrong, but right now should be a period of healing, a period of rehabilitation, a period of getting on with it.”

Mr Boucher oversaw commercial lending – including property development – at the bank in the lead-up to the crisis.

Bank of Ireland was the only Irish bank to avoid State control after a consortium of investors bought 34.9 per cent of the bank’s shares last July. The group was led by Toronto-based insurer Fairfax Financial Holdings and included Mr Ross’s New York buyout firm WL Ross and Co, Boston-based Fidelity Investments, the Los Angeles-based Capital Group and Californian property firm Kennedy Wilson.

The investment has since been repeatedly lauded by the Government as a “vote of confidence” in the bank and economy.

Mr Ross told the gathering of wealthy US business people the best way to help the Irish economy would be to make a bank deposit.

He said small and medium-sized firms were the key to tackling unemployment in Ireland, and that liquidity problems in the banks were holding them back because they could not access funding.

“I would be happy to have you own the stock, but the best way to help the Irish economy would be to make a deposit...Please give some thought to doing that,” he urged, adding that a “major American corporate depositor” had recently agreed to waive the Government guarantee on bank deposits in return for a higher rate of interest, illustrating a newly returned confidence in the bank.

He and his co-investors had invested for the long term. “We’re not a hedge fund that’s just trying to flip things. Generally speaking to get a bank turned around is a three- to five-year process, so whether that’s the right time denomination here nobody knows but it certainly isn’t 10 minutes or six months or one year.”

The financier had high praise for the policies pursued by the Government, describing Ireland as “the IMF’s poster boy for belt-tightening”, and complimenting the Taoiseach on being “a really inspirational speaker”.

He told those gathered for the Ireland-US Council lunch that at the Bill Clinton-sponsored Invest in Ireland conference, held in New York the previous week, Enda Kenny’s speech had people so “pumped up” they were “ready to run through walls”.

[mlkrborn]

REPORT issued: Loss narrowed!
Thnx to geeneyj2 and Wicklow we know the details:

DJ Bank of Ireland 2011 Pretax Loss EUR190M Vs Loss EUR950M

*DJ Bank of Ireland 2011 Net Pft EUR40M Vs Loss EUR609M

*DJ Bank of Ireland 2011 Loan Loss Impairments EUR1.94B

*DJ Bank of Ireland: More Than Met Deleverage Bailout Target In 2011

*DJ Bank of Ireland: Deleverage Sales Of EUR8.6B Of Whole EUR10B Goal

*DJ Bank of Ireland Loan To Deposit Ratio Cut To 144%

*DJ Bank of Ireland Cut Wholesale Funding Needs In 2011

*DJ Bank of Ireland Raised Unguaranteed Funding In 2011

*DJ Bank of Ireland Tapped ECB's LTRO Funding But No Increase Overall

*DJ Bank of Ireland Trading Continues To Be Difficult

*DJ Bank of Ireland: Intense Competition For Irish Deposits

*DJ Bank of Ireland 2011 /Shr

*DJ Bank of Ireland 2011

*DJ Bank of Ireland Dividend

*DJ Bank of Ireland


geeneyj2

Today 07:12


Bank of Ireland's BKIR.I underlying operating profit more than halved last year on high funding costs, a limited appetite for new credit and the selling off of higher-earning assets, though analysts said there were signs that the worst is now over.

The only domestic lender to avoid nationalisation after an unprecedented property crash, the bank saw the still high cost of attracting deposits and higher cost of a government guarantee of its liabilities cut net interest margin by 8 percent.

After successfully attracting private capital to meet strict new central bank targets last year, Bank of Ireland is focused on restructuring its cost base, improving funding dynamics and weaning itself off the expensive state guarantee.

By end-December last year, it had fully exited the costly emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) offered by Ireland's central bank, reduced its dependency on European Central Bank funding to 23 billion euros from 33 billion a year earlier and cut its staff by 7 percent year-on-year.

"These results suggest the bank reached a trough in its pre-provision earnings in 2011 and are likely to experience improving trends as the bank has exited the more costly ELA borrowing, can look to terminate its own issued bonds programme and maintains a tight focus on costs," Stephen Lyons, credit analyst at Davy Stockbrokers said.

Operating profit before provisions fell by 60 percent to 411 million euros, although the underlying pretax loss more than halved to 1.5 billion euros.

While the bank said it expected impairments to reduce over time, it saw them tick up a touch to 1.94 billion euros last year after it made provisions for 1.86 billion in 2010.

Chief Executive Richie Boucher added that the bank is still aiming to increase its net interest margin, the gap between what it charges for loans and what it pays to borrow, to 2 percent in 2014 from 1.33 percent in 2011 but said that the interest rate environment would make the target more difficult to achieve.

ARREARS TO PEAK

Under the government's latest restructuring of its banking sector almost a year ago, Bank of Ireland will form the core of a radically pared-down industry along with Allied Irish Banks ALBK.I and Monday's results showed Boucher's bank was having far more success attracting deposits.

The bank said its deposits grew by 8 billion euros in the second half of last year to 71 billion, mostly thanks to its UK subsidiary, outstripping the 6 billion euro growth Ireland's Department of Finance said the sector as a whole saw in the second half of 2011.

After central bank figures last week showed that nearly one in seven Irish home loans were not being fully repaid, Bank of Ireland also bettered the industry average with its proportion of owner occupier loans in arrears for more than 90 days rising to 5.6 percent from 3.7 a year ago but below the sector-wide headline figure of 9.2 percent.