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Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks, owned by National Australia Bank, saw pre-tax profits drop 64% in the six months to end-March as the UK economy slumped.
Pointing to underlying profits down only 6% at £238 million, chief executive Lynne Peacock said it had been a "creditable performance in exceptionally poor market conditions".
The banks, which operate under two brands but the single Clydesdale licence, have 2.7 million customers. They increased deposits by 15% to £20.1 billion as savers avoided the part-nationalised banks and spread their savings across a range of institutions. Peacock also said the bank had upped lending to businesses and for mortgages by £1.9 billion when rivals had virtually stopped.
She said: "Almost £2 billion of new lending has been advanced to business and mortgage customers. Business lending was up 14% and mortgage lending by 4%."
Bad debt provisions were up from 1.07% to 1.27% in the last six months while 90-day arrears were up from 0.46% to 0.71% of gross loans, Both remained well below average, she said.
Parent National Australia Bank saw profits flat as bad loans provisions doubled.
