US presidential candidate Mitt Romney owns more than $100,000 (€75,000) in AIB shares, his financial disclosure released this week has shown.
The former Massachusetts governor, who is in joint second place among Republican candidates, according to the latest American Research Group Poll, also recently sold Anglo Irish Bank stock worth between $15,000 and $50,0000.
The disclosure shows that Romney owns between $100,000 and $250,000 in AIB shares on which he declared an income of between $5,000 and $15,000 in the last 18 months.
It's likely Romney's investment experts became aware of Anglo Irish Bank through its extensive lending to property investors in his home state of Massachusetts. Overall, Romney is by far the wealthiest presidential candidate, with total assets of up to $250 million.
His finances contrast sharply with many presidential candidates, including Democrat senator Chris Dodd, who still owes AIB on money borrowed to buy his Connemara cottage.
Romney's disclose is by far the most comprehensive look yet at his finances. It shows that he recently sold shares that could prove politically embarrassing, such as Italian and French oil companies that have invested heavily in Iran.
Like Republican frontrunner Rudolph Guiliani and Democratic candidate Barack Obama, he recently dumped shares in Schlumberger Ltd, an oilfield services company that has business interests in Sudan.
The disclose was made to the Federal Election Commission and the US Office of Government Ethics.
Mr Romney's advisers agreed with the Los Angeles Times that Romney and his wife, Ann, held assets worth between $190 million and $250 million. The majority of their investments are kept in blind trusts, which are held by investment companies and not disclosed to the investor to avoid a possible conflict of interest.
Blind trusts set up for the couple's children hold another $100 million.
Romney's fortune was mostly acquired through a private equity firm he founded called Bain Capital, which provided funding for major US chains such as Dominos Pizza and stationery company Staples.
Romney held back disclosure of his finances until the release of a straw poll of Republican candidates ahead of the crucial Iowa primary early next year. The poll puts Romney ahead of all other candidates in Iowa, after he spent heavily on advertising in the state.
