Banks’ pension deficits double to €3bn

THE pension black holes at AIB, Bank of Ireland and Irish Life and Permanent have soared to almost €3 billion – more than double what they were a year ago.

The €3bn shortfall accounts for more than half the entire pension deficit of all of the companies listed on the main Irish stock exchange.

At the end of March 2009, Bank of Ireland faced a deficit of almost €1.5bn from €795 million in 2008. The latest reported deficit at the AIB scheme was €1.1bn at the end of 2008 from €423m a year earlier.