The write downs at the Ulster Bank look quite modest compared with those just announced at the Bank of Ireland.
The Ulster Bank has taken a hit of £144 million in the last quarter because of bad debt compared with over ten times that figure at the Bank of Ireland,
But the numbers are not what they appear at first sight.
Earlier this year the Ulster's parent Royal Bank of Scotland divided itself into two parts core and non-core. Into non-core was loaded assets of varying quality from various divisions including the Ulster Bank itself.
While the present slimmed down and healthier Ulster Bank was able to announce a relatively small operating loss of £85 million, that's because it wasn't lumbered with lots of toxic assets now residing in non-core.
Those troubled assets took a hit of just over £600 million pounds in the last quarter, roughly double the figure for the previous three months.
We don't know how any of this relates to Northern Ireland because just like the Bank of Ireland, the Ulster Bank doesn't identify income, costs or losses for here.
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