The Irish Bank Officials' Association (IBOA) has called for an urgent meeting with AIB group chief executive Mr Michael Buckley to discuss the Ludwig report.

IBOA general secretary Mr Larry Broderick said it was seeking the meeting to discuss all aspects of the report and, in particular, its implications for AIB staff.

"Staff at AIB are extremely concerned at the impact which the Rusnak affair has had, both on the morale of staff and on the future direction of the bank," Mr Broderick said. There were many issues raised within the report which required clarification and staff needed to be clear about what actions AIB proposed to take to ensure these extraordinary events were never repeated, he added.

"While the bank has given firm commitments to the IBOA in relation to job security and the protection of terms and conditions of employment, staff are annoyed that the bank appears to be attempting to retrieve its losses through reducing staff profit share, terminating contracts of temporary staff, reducing staff bonuses and deferring capital expenditure," he said. Mr Broderick said it was now timely for this meeting to take place to reassure staff.

AIB shares continue to recover ground lost in the aftermath of the revelation of the massive fraud at Allfirst last month. AIB shares climbed to €13.70 in Dublin yesterday, eight cents above the €13.62 level at which they were trading before the losses were disclosed. The shares rose as high as €14 during trading yesterday with the share price largely fuelled by takeover rumours.