Danske Bank in Northern Ireland has reported an operating profit of £21.1m for the first quarter of 2020.
Total income is 4% lower, reflecting sharply reduced interest rates and the impact of coronavirus disruption.
The bank said that 2020’s economic outlook is “challenging” with the expectation that more customers will face financial difficulties in the months ahead.
Danske Bank UK CEO Kevin Kingston commented: “The first two months of the quarter were steady, with the mortgage market continuing to be healthy and business lending in line with expectations.
“Towards the end of the quarter the coronavirus disruption began and the bank mobilised and reacted at pace to help our customers, colleagues and wider society.
“I feel passionately that Danske Bank’s role is to be a force for good both now and throughout the challenges ahead.
“We have approved over £120m worth of coronavirus related business support loans since the middle of March, with over £64 million of this volume provided through the Government backed Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).
Danske Bank UK CEO Kevin Kingston
“Our volume of business lending during the crisis has been more than double the equivalent amount lent during the same period last year.
“At the end of the quarter we announced the cancellation of interest on all of our existing personal overdrafts for a period of three months, benefiting up to 86,000 personal customers.
“We allowed mortgage customers, including customers who are residential buy-to-let landlords, to reduce or defer mortgage payments for up to three months. To date we have approved around 4,500 mortgage payment holidays.
“All Danske Bank branches across Northern Ireland remain open to support our customers, offering greater branch availability, in terms of opening hours, than any other local bank. The first hour of branch opening is set aside for vulnerable customers.
“Our award-winning local contact centre has also remained fully operational throughout the crisis, answering an increased volume of customer calls efficiently – with an average call wait time of around 20 seconds over the past three weeks.
“Exclusive hotlines into our contact centre have been set up for vulnerable customers and health service workers.
“We set up a ‘Check in and Chat’ team, which has been proactively calling elderly customers during the coronavirus crisis to check on their general wellbeing and see if we can help in any way, for example connecting them with outreach organisations like Age NI. To date the team has made over 4,000 calls.
“As the biggest bank in Northern Ireland, be assured that Danske Bank has the commitment and the capacity to continue to support customers, the community and the wider economy through these troubled times.”
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Source: Written from press release
