A bank beset by scandal in its 44-year history

NEARLY 30 years after its first major scandal and bailout — and after a number of others along the way — we arrive at this: the country’s largest bank nationalised and retreating deeper into the protection of the taxpayer.

The need for restructuring, recapitalisation and majority state control at AIB is amply summed up in the figures.

The bank’s market capitalisation has nosedived from nearly €20bn at the end of 2006 to its current level of just €430m; while its share price has gone from nearly €23 to just 30c over the same timeframe.