Loan impairments at KBC’s Irish operation fell in the first quarter of the year, the bank said today.

The latest figures show that provisions for loan losses declined to €48 million in the first three months of the year, compared with €773 million in the fourth quarter of 2013 and €99 million in the first quarter of last year.

KBC Bank Ireland, which employs more than 800 people throughout the State, said it made a loss after tax and impairments of €17.1 million, compared with a loss of €46.4 million for the same period in 2013.

Deposits at the bank were up to €3.1 billion as it added 9,000 new customers.

"We are satisfied with our performance over the first few months of the year, as we continue to expand our retail banking presence. The financial results and impairments are in line with our expectations and we remain on track to return to profit by 2016," KBC Bank Ireland chief executive Wim Verbraeken said.

The wider KBC group reported a profit of €397 million, with adjusted net profit of €387 million for the quarter. That reverses a loss of €294 million in the previous quarter.