By Padraic Halpin
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Allied Irish Banks (I:ALBK) (AIB) and Bank of Ireland (I:BKIR) will have to hold an extra chunk of capital from 2019 to reflect the risk a failure of either bank would pose to the economy, Ireland's Central Bank said on Tuesday.
Like other European banks, Irish lenders identified as "systemically important" to the domestic economy due to their size and market share will have to hold the additional capital, known as Core Tier 1, to increase their defences against future shocks.
The amount of extra capital for Ireland's two largest banks will be set at 1.5 percent of risk-weighted assets and phased in at a rate of 0.5 pct from July 2019, which the central bank said was broadly in line with what has been set in other European countries.
Analysts said the decision to phase in the requirements would be welcomed by the banks and reflected the central bank's concerns over the sluggish pace of new lending growth.
"This is good news for the banking sector as the regulator appreciates that ever-increasing capital requirements will only serve to choke credit growth," John Cronin, analyst at Investec Ireland, said.
In addition, a new countercyclical capital buffer -- introduced under European Union regulations that apply to all Irish banks -- has been set at 0 percent for the first quarter of 2016 and will be reviewed on a quarterly basis.
It can be set between 0 and 2.5 percent and aims to protect lenders from potential losses related to excessive credit growth, a measure of particular resonance in Ireland where the banking sector required the euro zone's costliest state bailout following a 2008 property crash.
"If these buffers had been in place in the build up to the crisis in Ireland, I have no doubt the effect would have been much less," Mark Cassidy, the Central Bank's head of financial stability told a news conference.
The zero rating for the first quarter of next year shows there are currently no signs of a credit bubble forming.
"The analysis provides no indication that credit conditions are contributing currently to a build up of systemic risk. The credit indicators are reasonably far away from a period that would be described as overheating," Cassidy said.
Ireland two main banks have already increased their capital ratios significantly since the crisis.
Bank of Ireland's Core Tier 1 capital adequacy ratio stood at 10.6 percent of assets at the end of September under industry rules known as fully-loaded Basel III. AIB guided that its ratio would have been 12.2 percent in September had a capital reorganisation it has since undertaken been completed.
The two banks also returned to profit for the first time since the crisis last year but the central bank said that they still compared poorly to weak European counterparts once write backs of impairment provisions were excluded.
This highlighted the need for banks to develop business models capable of producing sustainable profitability and income in the future, it said.
Bank of Ireland shares were 2.6 percent lower at 0.33 euros. AIB's were down 6.5 percent at 0.43 euros, though its shares have been falling sharply since it announced details of an ordinary share consolidation as part of its capital plans.