Bank of Ireland has reported a reduction in losses in the first six months of the year.

The bank lost €504 million, it said today, down from €1.26 billion in the first half of 2012.

Bank of Ireland said the fall was due to setting aside less money to cover loan losses.

The bank said today that mortgage arrears had risen to 10.5% at the end of June, compared to 9.88% at the end of December.

Meanwhile, Ulster Bank has also said its first half loss was lower than in 2012.

Mortgage arrears

New figures from the bank also show 4,700 Bank of Ireland customers had their mortgages restructered over the past six months, 85% of them are now back on what BoI CEO Richie Boucher describes as an 'acceptable payment basis'.

The bank says mortgage arrears rose to 10.5 percent at the end of June, compared to 9.88 percent at the end of December.

It's reporting a reduction in losses in the first six months of the year - losses hit 504 million euro at the end of June, down from 1.26 billion in 2012.

Bank of Ireland said the fall was due to setting aside less money to cover loans losses.

Mr. Boucher spoke to Newstalk's Business Breakfast this morning. Business Editor Ian Guider asked him for his view on AIB Chief Executive David Duffy's comments yesterday, when he said 1 in 5 of his mortgage customers are making the decision not to pay their loans, even though they can:

Listen to the full interview here - Ian Guider asked Richie Boucher how he accounted for big gains in income: