ICS BUILDING SOCIETY REPORTS A PRE-TAX PROFIT INCREASE TO 129M Euro

ICS Building Society announced an increase in pre-tax profits of 13.6% to €128.8 million for 2006. Speaking at the Society's 143rd Annual General Meeting held today (Thursday 26th April) Mr. John Collins, Chairman, stated that the Society's mortgage book increased from €5.2bn in 2005 to €6.2bn in 2006.

"In 2006, the Society delivered another excellent performance in what was a year of significant competitive activity in the marketplace. The Society's profits before tax increased by nearly 14% to almost €129m, our new mortgage lending also increased by 14% to €2.0bn and our mortgage book increased by 20% to €6.2bn". Mr Collins added.

Profit growth was also driven by a further improvement in the society's cost income ratio, which fell from 20.3% in 2005 to 19.1% in 2006. Commenting on this Mr Collins stressed that the improvement was achieved through efficiencies. "Importantly, these cost efficiencies have been achieved while maintaining the excellent quality of customer service that has been a cornerstone of the Society's business for many years."

Commenting on rising interest rates and the impact that this is having on the mortgage market Mr Collins said "We have seen a slowdown in property price inflation in recent months and, following a 10-year period in which average prices have increased by circa 15% per annum, we expect prices to increase by circa 3% in 2007. This is good news for house buyers, especially first time buyers and represents the soft landing that we have been predicting."

While stating that rising interest rates have also led to a slowdown in market demand for new mortgages in recent months Mr Collins stated that the outlook for the market is positive. "With price inflation slowing, and as we near the peak of the interest rate cycle, we expect demand for new mortgages in the Irish market to be strong in 2007." he said.

Commenting on the results ICS Building Society Managing Director, Mr. Joe Larkin, said "I am pleased to report another strong performance for the Society. The performance was achieved against a backdrop of increased market activity and I believe that our success has been driven by our ability to deliver consistently high levels of customer service together with competitive, innovative products that meet the needs of each market segment that we serve. The Society achieved a market share of 4.9% in 2006, with a particularly strong last quarter, winning 5.2% of new mortgage lending. The Society's new mortgage lending increased by 14% from €1,722m in 2005 to €1,963m in 2006. When combined with our owner Bank of Ireland we continue to have the largest share of mortgage lending in Ireland."

ICS Building Society 2006 Financial Highlights

Ends 26th April 2007

For further information:

Joe Larkin, Managing Director, ICS Building Society
Tel: 01 611 3501 / 086 258 7807

Sharon McDonnell, Consumer Communications Manager, Bank of Ireland
Tel: 01 604 3750 / 087 226 9324