The pensions, investment, and advisory group IFG saw an operating profit of £3.3m (€4.12m) for the first six months of the year, down from a £4.9m operating profit for the same period in 2011.

AIB’s long term strategy is based on an “independent future” for the bank, outgoing chief executive Michael Buckley told staff yesterday.

GALEN founder Allen McClay’s personal spending spree on acquiring company assets rose to €277m yesterday when he spent €34m buying Galen’s Pharmaceutical Development and Manufacturing Services business (PDMS).

BANK OF IRELAND, the country's second largest bank, made a profit of 24.69 million a week for the first half of 2003.