AIB has warned customers against a series of fraudulent emails targeting account holders. The emails claimed to come from AIB and asked online banking customers to give details such as personal access codes.

AIB joined the chorus of upbeat views on the Irish economy yesterday, with predictions that Irish GDP growth would top 5.5% this year and that the housing market was in line for a soft landing after years of runaway price rises.

AIB chairman Dermot Gleeson has spent almost €130,000 on shares in the bank.