The trader at the centre of an alleged €860 million fraud in the US is described as Mr Middle America.
The alleged fraud relates to the work of one foreign exchange trader - named as Mr John Rusnak - who has since failed to report for work at Allfirst's Baltimore headquarters.
He is in his mid-forties, from Pennsylvania, and among lower to middle-ranking personnel at the bank.
He earns around €96,000, relatively low by the standards of America's financial sector.
He is married with two children, a member of the local school board and a regular churchgoer.
The Allied Irish Bank's early morning statement confirming the alleged fraud has stunned the Irish business community.
There were also suggestions that the amount lost in the affair could exceed the provisional estimate from the bank.
Investors are said to be "very, very nervous," believing they had still to hear the full story.
One trader says: "We do not know everything and the fear is that the loss could be bigger."
PA
