Anglo Irish Bank today (Wednesday 5 May 2004) published its preliminary statement for the six month period ended 31 March 2004.

� Record pre-tax profits of �228.6m, an increase of 48%

� Underlying profitability (profits before general bad debt provisions) grew by 25%

� Basic earnings per share rose by 53% to 51.42 cent
(2003: 33.55 cent)

� Total assets increased by 18% to �30.4 billion on a constant currency basis (September 2003: �25.8 billion)

� Lending to customers increased by 15% on a constant currency basis to �21.3 billion, equating to record net loan growth of �2.8 billion

� Return on equity increased to 34%

� Tier One Capital stands at 8.0%

Commenting on the results, Sean FitzPatrick, Group Chief Executive, said:

�This has been an excellent first half for the Bank with very strong performances across all divisions.

Loans to customers grew by a record �2.8 billion net on a constant currency basis demonstrating the Bank�s ability to achieve strong growth in its chosen sectors and markets. The quality of the book continues to be strong as demonstrated by the very low level of specific bad debt charge of �9.6 million, just 0.045% of closing loan balances.

Non inter-bank funding increased by �4.7 billion, bringing total funding to �26.7 billion, again representing the strongest period of growth in the Bank�s history. Over the last 12 months customer deposits have grown by nearly 40% reflecting the continued strengthening of the Bank�s franchise.

We are very encouraged by the Bank�s performance so far in the current year. This performance and the record level of work in progress at �3.4 billion point to a strong outcome for the full year to September 2004�

-ends-

For reference: