The Bank said it expected to grow underlying Earnings Per Share (EPS) by circa 10% in the half-year to 30 September 2007 on an underlying EPS of 73.0 cents for the half-year to 30 September 2006, and profit before tax (PBT) to grow by circa 12% on a similar basis, and reaffirmed previous guidance of delivering low double digit underlying EPS growth for the year to 31 March 2008 (from a base of 144.6 cent for the year to 31 March 2007). But the Bank warned that results were subject to continued volatility in capital markets.

The statement said that the Bank had no direct lending exposure to the US sub-prime mortgage market, and an indirect exposure of less than €10 million.

'Business momentum remains strong across the Group,' said the Bank, 'as we continue to drive growth from our core franchise and invest successfully in building our international businesses. Our disciplined approach to cost management has delivered further efficiency gains and as a result we anticipate a positive cost / income 'jaws' of circa 4%. Mid-single digit basis points margin attrition, excluding a positive impact of IAS 39 accounting treatment, is expected for the half-year to 30 September 2007 compared to the 6 month period to 30 September 2006. Asset quality remains excellent. The annualised loan loss charge as a percentage of average loans is expected to be low double digit basis points.'

The Bank said that circa 80% of its loan book is funded by customer deposits and term funding with a maturity profile greater than one year. The statement said that the economic backdrop to the Bank's activities in Ireland remains positive with strong fundamentals.

Bank of Ireland Group will announce its Interim Results for the half-year to 30 September 2007 on 14 November 2007.