Top Management: Several senior members of the business and banking community were involved in running AIB during the period covered by yesterday's statement. The bank has not disclosed the names of the five former senior executives involved with the offshore company Faldor or the five other executives identified as having "tax issues" nor has it indicated their level of seniority. Three of them still work for the bank.

Mr Gerry Scanlan was the group chief executive between 1985 and 1994. Mr Scanlan featured in the report of the Public Accounts Committee into the issue of Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) in 2000. The report found it "extraordinary" that there was no significant involvement by Mr Scanlan in relation to the DIRT issue. Mr Scanlan told the Public Accounts Committee inquiry in September 1999 that he knew nothing about AIB's £IR100 million potential DIRT liability.

Mr Scanlan was succeeded as chief executive in 1994 by Mr Tom Mulcahy, currently chairman of Aer Lingus, who held the position until 2001. Since then Mr Michael Buckley, a former senior public servant, has held the position of group chief executive.

The head of AIB Investment Managers for most of the period involved was Mr Pat Cunneen. He took the post in 1992 and retired in 1997, to be replaced by Mr Maurice Harte. Dr Eileen Fitzpatrick took over in 2000 and was the executive who brought the existence of Faldor to the attention of the AIB board.

The most well-known member of the AIB board during some of this time was Mr Peter Sutherland, who served as chairman between 1989 and 1993 and is currently chairman of BP. In 1993 he stepped down from the board of AIB, saying his workload had become unmanageable. The chairman before Mr Sutherland was Mr Niall Crowley, who passed away in 1998. After 12 years at AIB, Mr Crowley stood down as chairman at the end of 1989.

Mr Sutherland was succeeded as chairman by Mr Jim Culliton,former CRH chief executive, who was replaced by Mr Lochlann Quinn of Glen Dimplex in 1996. Mr Dermot Gleeson took over as chairman earlier this year.