AIB said its US subsidiary, Allfirst Financial, had pulled out of a consortium of lenders to beleaguered drugs-testing group Huntingdon Life Sciences. AIB said it could not comment on the details of Allfirst's involvement with Huntingdon or whether AIB's portion of the loan was taken up by anyone else. Allfirst was part of a consortium led by US investment house Stephens that saved the drugs-testing group from the brink of receivership in January. The loan is due to expire in 2006.

Huntingdon, which tests drugs on animals for pharmaceutical companies, has been the target of a relentless campaign by animal rights activists. It ran into financial trouble when Royal Bank of Scotland decided not to renew a loan facility of £22.6 million sterling. Allfirst's defection from the consortium is yet another blow for the group.

Allfirst Financial, which has assets of $18 billion (€20.2 billion), is AIB Group's US financial services company headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. It is understood the animal rights group planned protests outside AIB's branches in Ireland and Britain.

In April, Huntingdon announced it was taking legal action against the animal rights groups.