The past 18 months have marked a turnaround for the crisis-stricken Irish lenders, as Allied Irish Banks (AIB), Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank posted profits for the first time since 2008.
This recovery is the result of a long period of painful restructuring that all three banks have undergone. The half-year figures for 2015 suggest that the banks have put most of these troubles behind them and turned themselves into far leaner organisations (see chart 1).