Bank of Ireland has reported underlying pre-tax losses of €569m for 2013, a 61% decrease on losses of €1.5bn incurred in 2012.

The bank said lending to small and medium enterprises increased by 8% in 2013, with approvals for new and increased credit amounting to €4bn, reflecting an 85% approval rate.

The following day, Wilbur Ross, the US billionaire who paid €1.1bn for a 35% stake in Bank of Ireland in 2011, offered 6.4% of the bank for sale. The share price fell by 10% after reaching a five-year high of 39c at close of business on Friday.

AIB this week reported pre-tax losses of €1.7bn for 2013, a 55% decrease on losses of €3.7bn incurred the previous year. In a statement, the bank said it had approved over €7bn in loans in 2013 and was targeting between €7bn and €10bn in lending each year for the next five years.

Europe’s biggest bank, HSBC, reported pre-tax profits of $22.6bn for 2013, a rise of 9% from $20.6bn in 2012. The European division accounted for $1.8bn of this. In the past three years HSBC has axed more than 40,000 jobs.

Last week, Ulster Bank reported an operating loss of £1.45bn for 2013, a 40% increase on losses of £1.04bn in 2012. Royal Bank of Scotland, which owns Ulster Bank, also reported losses of £8.5bn, which is the group’s biggest loss since it was bailed out by the British government. Over £15bn of that bailout money has been pumped into Ulster Bank by RBS since 2008.

Dutch lender Rabobank, which owns ACC Bank, reported a net profit of €2.01bn, a 2% decrease on 2012. ACC, along with Danske, are to exit in 2014.

With cleaner balance sheets and a return to profitability imminent for Bank of Ireland and AIB, theoretically they are in a much better position to lend.

Profitable foreign lenders operating in Ireland such as Rabobank and HSBC are only interested in lending to corporate businesses as they divest their direct farm business here.

After a period of high risk, the banks are now overly cautious. They also have reduced capital to lend while regulation ensures that they must meet capital and risk requirements.

Banks have cut costs and reduced service, while also increasing margins to drive profits. With banks hungry for profit, this will come at the expense of farmers and businesses paying higher marginal interest rates. Do we now need a third strong bank to challenge and compete with the two pillar banks?

This concern has also been raised by Minister for finance Michael Noonan, which has given rise to speculation that a deal may be brokered to tie in Ulster Bank with Permanent TSB.

With the Agri food industry currently in expansionary mode, it is essential that we have banks willing to lend capital at a competitive rate. As the banks focus on driving profits and growth, agriculture, with its proven track record, will continue to be one of the safest sectors to invest in. With foreign banks fleeing the direct agriculture market, is there now an opportunity for a new bank with no legacy debt issues?