Strong first-half results will help AIB in its drive to increase the proportion of group shares held by continental European investors. Only about 2 per cent of the shares are in their hands, with about 55 per cent of the shares held by Irish investors and about 25 per cent by those in the US.

Chief executive Tom Mulcahy would like to see this rise to 5 to 6 per cent within the next three to four years.

But he sees it as a daunting task. This is mainly because the culture of buying equities, particularly foreign equities, is not well developed in many European countries. But the bank is investing a lot of staff time to expand its shareholders base the investor relations department is busy carrying out road shows to convince European fund managers of the merits of an investment in AIB.

On the plus side, the introduction of the euro in January 1999 will remove the currency risk of the investment and make it easier to attract interest. Then there is the attraction of an investment in the booming Irish economy. For AIB there is the added advantage that its shares are part of the Eurostock index which should encourage European fund managers to buy the stock to ensure a balanced portfolio.

A 66 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to £401 million for the six months to end June should impress European fund managers. The outlook for the future also looks good.

AIB is confident domestic operations will continue to perform strongly. In the US the bank is on target with the integration of the Dauphin acquisition which will result in cost savings. In Poland through its WBK subsidiary, AIB is driving ahead in an economy where the business potential is enormous while in Britain profits are growing.