Strong Irish Franchise and Market Position
Unrivaled position across Mortgages, Everyday Banking, Corporate & Commercial Lending and Wealth & Insurance in Ireland; >40% share of new mortgage lending for the third year running; 2.2 million Irish retail customers and ~150,000 affluent customers to target cross-sell.
Balance Sheet Growth in 2025
Irish loan and deposit books each grew 6% in 2025, supporting momentum in net interest income and franchise expansion.
Wealth AUM Record and Growth
Wealth & Insurance assets under management reached an all-time high (EUR 60bn reported) with AUM up 9% in 2025 and an ambition to grow to >EUR 75bn by 2028 and EUR 100bn by 2030; Wealth & Insurance fee income up 12% and now accounts for nearly half of total fee income.
Upgraded Net Interest Income (NII) Guidance
NII expected ≈ EUR 3.4bn in 2026 (above prior high-3.3s expectation), > EUR 3.6bn in 2027 and > EUR 3.85bn in 2028 with potential upside (management sees potential to reach EUR 4.0bn after 2028).
Capital Generation and Returns
Organic capital generation of 270 basis points in 2025 (total 920bps / ~EUR 5bn over the cycle); reported CET1 15.1% after distributions; guidance to operate at ~14.5% CET1 through the new strategic cycle; target statutory ROTE >16% by 2028 (an increase of >500bps).
Shareholder Distributions
Total distributions for 2025 of EUR 1.2bn (100% payout of earnings): progressive dividend EUR 0.70 per share (up 11%) plus EUR 530m approved buyback; EUR 3.6bn returned to shareholders over the last cycle.
Fee Income and Diversification
Group total fee income rose 7% in 2025; Wealth & Insurance fee income +12%; management expects ~4% fee income growth in 2026 and continued fee contribution from AUM growth (AUM CAGR ~10% targeted).
Structural Hedge Supporting NII Trajectory
Average yield on structural hedge rose 16 bps to 1.89% in 2025 with an exit yield of 1.98%; management cites the hedge as a material positive driver (gross tailwind ~EUR 0.5bn over the next 3 years) and expects fixed leg income to rise ~10% in 2026.
Improving Asset Quality
Impairment charge EUR 193m in 2025 (23 bps cost of risk), with net loan loss experience and portfolio activity of EUR 65m and H2 net writebacks; NPE ratio improved to 2.2% (down from prior levels); guidance for cost of risk in low-to-mid-20 bps.
Cost Discipline and Efficiency Program
Operating expenses rose 3% in 2025 (in line with guidance) with efficiencies equivalent to ~2% of cost base delivered; management targets ~EUR 250m of cost reductions over the plan, stable total costs at ~EUR 2.2bn and a mid-40s cost-to-income ratio by 2028 (≈6 percentage point improvement versus 2025).
Digital & AI-Driven Productivity Gains
Investment in digital platforms and AI is delivering tangible benefits: contact centre call transfers reduced by >40%, AI processed >1 billion card transactions for fraud prevention; ~20% of targeted EUR 250m efficiency savings expected from AI initiatives.