Allied Irish Banks Services (AIB)

The bank has one of the largest branch networks in Ireland, the only other bank to rival it is the Bank of Ireland.

AIB offers a full range of personal banking services:-

  • loans
  • credit cards
  • Mortgages
  • Remortgages

The bank also offers a range of general insurance products such as :-

  • Home insurance
  • Travel insurance
  • Health insurance

AIB alos offers life assurance and pensions through its wholly owned subsidiary, Ark Life Assurance.

The bank also offers the full range of corporate banking services. AIB Capital Markets is the division of the company that offers international banking and treasury operations. It offers stockbroking services through its subsidiary Goodbody Stockbrokers.

Internationally, AIB operates mainly in the United Kingdom (as Allied Irish Bank (GB) and First Trust Bank in Northern Ireland), and Poland (as BZ-WBK). It also owns a 22.5% stake in M&T Bank in the United States.

Allied Irish Banks is usually referred to, both inside and outside the company, as simply AIB and often incorrectly as "Allied Irish Bank". In Northern Ireland however, the bank is known as First Trust Bank, while in Great Britain, it is called "Allied Irish Bank (GB)" - the only part of the operation where the full name, in the singular, is still in daily use.

Initially, the bank operated under the names of its former constituent companies, alongside a new AIB logo, a circle divided in three with an "A" at the centre. From 1970, these were replaced by "Allied Irish Banks". In 1990, AIB introduced a new logo. Since then, the bank has preferred to be referred to as simply "AIB", though "Allied Irish Banks plc" remains its legal name.

AIB'S History

Allied Irish Bank was formed in 1966 out of the merger of three Irish banks: Provincial Bank, Royal Bank of Ireland, and Munster & Leinster Bank. The banks saw an alliance as the best way to overcome the fragmented nature of the Irish banking industry. Ireland in the mid-1960s was changing fast and the merger strengthened the banks’ position in the emerging global business era. In 1966, AIB's aggregate assets were €323.8 million – as at 31 December 2005, the AIB Group had assets of €133 billion.

Over the decades, AIB has become an increasingly international organisation. The creation of a branch network in Britain in the 1970s was followed by an investment in the USA in the 1980s.

In 1983, AIB first invested in First Maryland Bancorp in the USA. In July 1997, AIB acquired Dauphin Deposit Corporation which it merged with First Maryland Bancorp to form Allfirst in 1999.

In July 1991, the merger of AIB Group's interests in Northern Ireland with those of TSB Northern Ireland created First Trust Bank.

AIB invested in Poland by gradually building a majority shareholding of 60.1% in Wielkopolski Bank Kredytowy (WBK) between 1995 and 1996. In June 1999, AIB reached an agreement with the Polish State Treasury to acquire an 80% shareholding in Bank Zachodni SA. In June 2001, AIB completed a merger of the two banks to create Bank Zachodni WBK. The combined bank is a leading Polish bank in terms of asset size and key product market shares.

Between 1999 and 2001 AIB had an interest in Keppel TatLee Bank in Singapore, but withdrew after Oversea Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) acquired Keppel TatLee.

In April 2003, AIB completed a deal merging AIB’s US subsidiary, Allfirst, with M&T Bank Corporation.

Current developments

In February 2006 the bank announced record pre-tax profits of €1.7 billion, a 23% rise on the previous year and the largest ever for an Irish bank. The majority of the increase came from its Republic of Ireland operations, but with its Capital Markets, Northern Ireland, Great Britain, Poland and American divisions also making significant contributions. This led to criticism from some newspapers, as their profit per customer is up to three times that of other European banks. Irish Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte called for more competition in the Irish banking sector. In August 2006 the bank again announced record profits for the first half of 2006, making €1.2 billion before tax, equating to €1.2 million per hour (a figure equivalent to the earnings per hour of 156,862 people on Ireland's minimum wage).

AIB were the main sponsor's of the 2006 Ryder Cup, which was held at The K Club in Straffan, County Kildare. In May 2006 the bank launched a €5 million advertising campaign for the tournament.

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