Allied Irish Bank
For the first half of the year, the bank saw 15% growth in earnings per share, fueled by overall deposit growth of 6% and overall loan growth of 11%. Like almost every other bank on the planet, the flattish interest rate curve took a chunk out of the company's net interest margin, reducing it 18 basis points to 2.55%. While Allied Irish and nearly every other bank have moved beyond relying solely upon loans and deposits, the net interest margin is still a valuable indication of the profitability of a bank's lending operations.
Looking at the various segments, pre-tax profits in Ireland were up 34%, while the Great Britain/Northern Ireland business saw growth of 13%. The company's Polish operations chipped in 17% pre-tax growth (in local currency), and the capital markets business grew its pre-tax profit by 33%. As previously reported, M&T Bank
The bank made considerable strides in improving profitability across the board, and bad debt expense improved substantially. In addition, Allied Irish's return on assets for the first half ticked down slightly to 1.23% (from 1.28%), as did the return on equity (20.1% vs. 20.3%), but both numbers are still quite respectable.
Investors have no shortage of options when it comes to overseas banks. India's ICICI Bank
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Fool contributor Stephen Simpson has no financial interest in any stocks mentioned (that means he's neither long nor short the shares).
