AIB shares surge to €15

SHARES in AIB touched the €15 mark for the first time in two years yesterday, bringing the bank within striking distance of a market capitalisation of €13 billion.

But shareholders were warned not to become too complacent, as Davy Stockbrokers said the group’s exit from its American investment was “only a matter of time” and the slide in the value of the dollar would hurt overall group profits.

Davy said AIB’s 22.5% stake in American regional bank M&T was worth only slightly more in euro terms than it had been two years ago, even though M&T’s share price had risen 44% in the intervening period. The dollar had collapsed by 36% against the euro over the same timeframe.