AIB confident of passing stress test

Allied Irish Bank is confident it will breeze through the ECB stress tests following the announcement the bank has returned to underlying profit for the first time since 2008.

The bank is now looking at unwinding its contingent capital notes before moving to convert the Government’s 98% stake into ordinary shares, possibly in the first half of 2015.

The main drivers in the bank’s return to profitability were reductions in impaired loans and an increase in profitability, as lower funding costs boosted the bank’s returns, according to its interim management statement.