The boards of AIB and its US subsidiary, Allfirst, will meet in Dublin on Tuesday to consider a report from former US currency controller, Mr Eugene Ludwig, on his investigation into the $691 million (€795 million) fraud at the Baltimore bank.
This is the first time a meeting of the 16-member Allfirst board has been convened in Dublin and it comes amid expectations that some of its members could leave the bank.
The board includes Allfirst chairman Mr Frank Bramble and chief executive Ms Susan Keating. A number of former AIB executives are also on the Allfirst board. They are Mr Jerry Casey, the former head of the bank's US business and former AIB chief executive, Mr Tom Mulcahy. They were both in key roles for much of the five year period during which the fraud was perpetrated.
Other Allfirst board members include two former US Ambassadors to the Republic, Mrs Margaret Heckler and Mr Mike Sullivan. The other board members are drawn largely from the Baltimore area.
AIB group chief executive, Mr Michael Buckley, and the bank's head of finance and group risk, Mr Gary Kennedy are on the boards of Allfirst and of AIB.
Members of the AIB board include former attorney general, Mr Dermot Gleeson, CRH director and former chief executive, Mr Don Godson, UTV chairman, Mr John McGuckian and Davy Stockbrokers former chief economist, Mr Jim O'Leary.
Mr Ludwig will hand over the report to AIB chairman, Mr Lochlann Quinn this weekend. He will then present his findings to the board members on Tuesday.
The bank will not publish the entire report but will issue a summary, probably on Wednesday, together with details of what action the board is planning to take on foot of it. Mr Quinn has said Mr Ludwig will be asked to verify that the summary is a fair and accurate reflection of his report.
There was heavy trading in AIB shares yesterday ahead of Mr Ludwig's findings. AIB's share price was weaker, closing 13 cents down at €12.39. The market is expecting heads to roll as a result of the five-year fraud. The focus is on individuals at Allfirst but investors are waiting to see whether executives in Ireland may suffer a similar fate.
A number of class actions were filed in the US against AIB this week seeking damages for investors who bought shares between January 1999 and February 6th 2002. The suit is based on information that indicates the bank had concerns about currency trader Mr John Rusnak's activities as early as 1999 but did not disclose the fraud until last month.
