AIB has had a securities fraud class action filed against it by New York law firm Finkelstein, Thompson & Loughran in the US District Court on behalf of all persons who bought AIB ADRs - AIB shares traded in the US - between January 1st, 2001 and February 6th, 2002.
The action follows AIB's announcement on February 6th that it had sustained at least $691 million of currency trading losses at its unit AllFirst Financial.
Following the announcement, AIB's ADR price fell 16 per cent to $19.77 from the previous day's close of $23.55.
Finkelstein, Thompson & Loughran alleges that AIB's financial reports fraudulently failed to reflect these losses since 1999 and added that AIB has admitted since February 6th that its 2001 financial reports alone overstated net income by as much as $449 million.
AFP