THE economic cycle is starting to turn in Northern Ireland, top banker Kevin Kingston believes.
Danske Ban's chief executive was speaking after his organisation revealed a pre-tax profit of £15.8 million on turnover of £47m in the first quarter of 2021 - up from £1.4 million in quarter one 2020.
He said: “The success of the UK’s vaccine roll out, coupled with growing consumer and business confidence,
offers opportunity for local businesses and individuals to now look ahead at fulfilling their ambitions.
“We believe the economic cycle is starting to turn, and in quarter one investment support requests
from medium to large sized business customers have steadily increased.”
Like other banks, Danske has seen a massive growth in customer deposits over the last year as customers save for when they feel the economic conditions are right (deposits were up by 28 per cent year-on-year from £7.6 billion to £9.8 billion).
And Mr Kingston added: “Many businesses have investment plans that have been sitting on a shelf through the Brexit and Covid uncertainty of the past two years.
“We understand from speaking to customers that many feel the time is now right to re-assess their investment ambitions.”
The quarterlies show that Danske Bank did not make any new loan loss provisions over the period (in 2020 it set aside more than £45m to cover loans it felt were unlikely to be repaid in full).
Mr Kingston said: “Having played a key role in the provision of government–backed support lending in 2020, it is imperative that lending focused on growth and renewal is now made available to the business community.
“As the biggest bank here, we must lead from the front, so have created a £500 million ‘Helping Northern Ireland Grow Again’ fund targeted at medium-large sized businesses.
“This initiative will sit alongside our small business and mortgage campaigns and is in place for both existing business customers and those who are currently with other banks but who are open to moving their banking relationship to Danske Bank.
“I have been involved in business lending for over 30 years, and have always admired the Northern Irish entrepreneurial spirit and resilience in the face of adversity.
“Those traits remain ever-present across our business community, and Danske must, and will, do all we can to support a return to economic growth, job creation and prosperity.”
