The bank said this was offset by the sale of £2.9bn of performing mortgages to its parent company, BoI, in November as well as repayments and redemptions on the existing portfolio. This resulted in a £4.6bn net decrease in its mortgage portfolio.
Meanwhile, it reported “strong growth” within its bespoke mortgage range which now accounts for a quarter of its new mortgage business lending.
The bank said this underlined its strategy to focus on areas of the market which added most value to mortgage brokers.
The products are available to borrowers who may not meet traditional lending criteria due to non-standard incomes or because they have limited mortgage options.
Its bespoke range saw £500m in gross mortgage lending and ended the year on a balance of £900m, up from £500m in 2020.
On the whole, the group reported statutory profit before tax, including non-core items of £410m, up more than tenfold from £40m in 2020 and an underlying profit before tax of £335m, up from £50m.
George Higginson, director of Northern Ireland, partnerships and mortgages at Bank of Ireland UK, said: “Despite the continued impact of Covid-19 restrictions in 2021, throughout the year we continued to offer a full range of mortgages, giving brokers certainty and consistency in service delivery which has lead to better broker relationships.
“We saw strong growth in our bespoke mortgage proposition. The positive feedback we received from brokers, together with the external recognition we achieved, shows we are successfully delivering our focused, niche mortgage strategy.”
“In 2022, we expect another busy year of mortgage activity, with the continued evolution of our bespoke proposition and the roll-out of new propositions and services, enabled by our investment in enhancing our digital capabilities.”
