ALLIED IRISH BANK lost €1.7 billion last year, €2 billion less than it lost the previous year.

In its annual results for 2013 which were announced this morning, the bank said that it is hopeful that it will return to profitability by 2015.

AIB CEO David Duffy said last year was one of “steady progress” at the bank.

“A number of important milestones have been reached and the fundamentals of AIB’s performance are now trending more positively both from an operational and economic perspective,” he said.

The bank’s total operating income was up 34 per cent to €1.9 billion. Operating expenses fell significantly, down €278 million, including staff costs down 18 per cent due in part to a large number of redundancies.

David Duffy said the bank was focused on making a profit this year.

“Notwithstanding the ongoing challenges facing the bank, we are more optimistic for the outlook of both the bank and the Irish economy,” he said.

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