Gleeson defends €150m loss

THE €150 million loss recorded by AIB on the sale of British asset management arm Govett was defended by chairman Dermot Gleeson at the bank's annual general meeting yesterday.

Mr Gleeson told shareholders Govett was "certainly not one of our greatest investments". But he added that AIB's decision to cut its losses was one of a number of tough decisions taken by management last year that were right for the group's long-term future.

"All of these adjustments cost money. But they put AIB in better shape than ever before," said Mr Gleeson, who was chairing his first AGM since taking over from Lochlann Quinn last year. Mr Gleeson predicted double-digit earnings growth in the year ahead as the benefits of last year's decisions began to flow through.