ALLIED Irish Bank's US subsidiary, First Maryland Bank (FMB), has completed a new credit card co branding agreement with the Baltimore based Crown Central Petroleum Company. This follows an earlier co branding agreement reached last October with Bell Atlantic.

Under the terms of the deal, FMB's credit card subsidiary, First Omni Bank, will be responsible for issuance, administration and process billing for the new card. The Crown MasterCard will offer premiums linked to the levels of purchases in any of 350 Crown retail locations and 13 million other merchants worldwide where MasterCard is accepted.

Meanwhile, AIB has completed the acquisition of an additional 20 per cent stake in the Polish bank, WBK, for £38 million, bringing its stake to 36.1 per cent. Yesterday, AIB bought 13.76 million shares in a block deal on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and still has an option to buy the 23.9 per cent stake in WBK held by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.