AIB losses building since 1997

ALLIED Irish Banks said its US subsidiary Allfirst had been amassing losses since 1997. It also said the total amount lost was $691m (£485m), less than the $750m estimated a fortnight ago when news of the activities of alleged rogue currency trader John Rusnak broke.

'The suspected fraud has been a substantial blow to all AIB stakeholders...I am determined to spare no effort in repairing the damage we have suffered,' said chief executive Michael Buckley.

The bank has called in expert Eugene Ludwig to carry out a 30-day investigation into the affair. He will report to the board on 9 March, the findings will be made public and AIB will then decide on appropriate action. 'My highest priority is to conduct a careful and thorough review of this situation. This includes pursuing the probability that the bank was defrauded,' said Ludwig.

When the alleged fraud was revealed, AIB said pre-tax profits would be e650m (£390m), after taking the foreign exchange trading losses into account. Today it produced a lower figure, e612m, down 47% on the previous year. The dividend is 43.8 cents, up 13%. Had the currency fiasco not taken place, AIB's pre-tax profits would have been e1.4bn, against e1.3bn last year.