Anglo Irish Bank today (Wednesday 24 November 2004) published its preliminary statement for the year to 30 September 2004.

• Pre-tax profits increased by 45% to �504.1m
  (2003: �346.5m)
• Basic earnings per share rose by 47% to 114.53 cent (2003: 78.03 cent)
• �Like for like� profits (profits before general bad debt provisions) increased by 28%
• Total assets increased by 35% to �34.3bn
  (2003: �25.5bn)
• Lending to customers increased by 35% to �24.4bn
• Total Capital Ratio stands at 13.9%
• Final dividend proposed of 15.04 cent bringing total dividend for the year to 22.56 cent, an increase of 20% on 2003

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

�The Bank�s performance in 2004 has been excellent. Our franchise continues to strengthen in each of our core markets and these results clearly demonstrate the scalability of the Bank�s model.

Record net loan growth of �6.3bn brought customer loans to �24.4bn, an increase of 35% on last year. Asset quality remains highly robust, reflected in non-performing loans equating to just 0.61% of our closing book and a specific provision charge of 0.08%.

Each division has enjoyed a positive start to the current year. Lending work in progress is at record levels and we look forward to a strong performance for the year to September 2005�