RNS Number:3103T
Irish Life & Permanent PLC
16 December 2003


                        Irish Life & Permanent plc

                   Pre-close Trading Statement for 2003


                                                     Issued: 12.00 Dec 16th 2003


Irish Life & Permanent plc issued the following trading statement ahead of its
closed period for the year to Dec 31st 2003.

Overview

New business volumes for the year are expected to be in line with guidance given
at the interim results announcement. Bank new lending enjoyed strong growth
right through the year driven by buoyant demand for residential mortgages. After
the sharp fall in life sales in the first half - principally reflecting the
impact of the government sponsored SSIA products in the prior year - life sales
growth resumed strongly in the second half of 2003.

The full year earnings outcome for the group is also anticipated to be in line
with market expectations.

Sales

Banking Business

Gross new lending for the group (Ireland and the UK) is expected to be just
short of Euro6 billion for the full year, representing growth of over 30%. New
residential mortgage lending in Ireland is expected to grow by circa 30% for the
year while new mortgage lending in the UK by Capital Home Loans will exceed the
strong growth performance of the first half. Consumer finance lending enjoyed a
strong second half with new lending growth of circa 11% expected for the full
year.

The foregoing expected growth in new lending should translate into overall
growth in the loan book in the order of 17% for the year.


Life Business

Both the Retail and Corporate life divisions enjoyed strong second half growth
with combined second half sales expected to show growth of over 15% over the
corresponding period in 2002. The main driver of the strong second half
performance has been pensions and, in particular, the success enjoyed in the new
PRSA pensions market.

Full year life sales in Ireland (excluding investment sales by ILIM) will be
down, as guided, by approximately 22% (2002: Euro326.4m) reflecting the SSIA impact
in the prior year numbers. Excluding SSIA sales of Euro101m in 2002 the Retail life
division's sales for the year are expected to be ahead by over 16%. Corporate
life sales should grow by circa 5% for the full year.

ILIM, the group's fund management business, enjoyed a very strong year with new
investment inflows up circa 30% on 2002 on the back of continued strong fund
performance. In contrast to the prior year however, the bulk of 2003 inflows are
off balance sheet so reported (i.e. on balance sheet unit-linked) ILIM sales for
this year will be down over 40% from Euro87.7m in 2002.

Earnings

Banking Business

The contribution from banking for the year is expected to be strongly ahead of
2002. This is principally due to gains arising from the repositioning of a
proportion of the bank's gilt portfolio in the first half of the year. Modest
net interest income growth is expected for the year as the margin squeeze from
falling interest rates offsets the contribution from strong lending growth. The
net interest margin for the full year is expected to fall to just over 160 bps
(2002: 178 bps) reflecting the full impact of rate cuts and the increased cost
of wholesale funding for the rapidly growing loan book.

The bank is on schedule to achieve the targeted cost synergies of Euro29m by the
end of 2003 and total bank costs will be below 2002 levels.

Life Business

The contribution from life assurance activities for the year will, as expected,
be down on 2002 principally reflecting the lower sales volumes producing a lower
new business contribution. However new business margins have improved as
expected through the second half of the year due to the combination of higher
volumes and tight cost control. Full year new business margins for total life
and investment sales in Ireland are expected to increase from 11.9% in the first
half to in excess of 13% for the full year (2002:14.1%).

The contribution from the existing book of business will reflect a continued
out-performance against assumptions, including the benefits flowing from
improved cost efficiency. Life business operating costs are expected to be flat
on 2002.

The recovery in investment markets, partially offset by the impact of the weaker
US$ and Stg# currencies, resulted in short-term investment fluctuations ("below
the line") of approximately Euro25m as of Dec12th. This compares with a negative of
Euro96.7m for the full year 2002.

Associated Business

Allianz -Irish Life, which carries on non-life insurance and in which the group
has a 30% interest, has continued to enjoy a good underwriting performance and
positive investment returns into the second half of the year.

Outlook

Trading conditions for both the life and banking businesses continue to be
favourable. The residential mortgage market remains robust and the pipeline for
new lending is very strong. In the life business we are very encouraged by our
successful start in the PRSA market. In addition the improvement in investment
markets has been positive for distributor and investor confidence and we see a
continued recovery in momentum in our life business.

The 2003 preliminary results announcement will take place 3rd March 2004.

Pre-close Trading Statement - Analyst Conference Call

David Went, Group Chief Executive and Peter Fitzpatrick, Group Finance Director
will host a conference call for analysts at 15.00 GMT on Tuesday 16 December.

To join the conference call, please dial in to the number below 10 minutes
before and ask for the Irish Life & Permanent Call


                  +353 1 439 0433


The conference call will also be available via the LIVE service on
Bloomberg.

A recording of this conference call will be available from 17.00 GMT on 16
December. This service will be available until 23 December. The telephone number
and access code are:

Tel: +353 1 240 0041               Access code: #299929


Contact details:

David McCarthy, Group Chief Financial Officer

Tel: +353 1 856 3050

Barry Walsh, Head of Investor Relations

Tel: +353 1 704 2678

Ray Gordon, MRPA Consultants

Tel: +353 1 6788099


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