Strong gains by Bank of Ireland shares have seen the group overtake AIB as the largest bank on the Irish Stock Exchange.
Bank of Ireland's 30 cent surge yesterday ended AIB's two year reign at the top of the exchange. At yesterday's closing price of 10.50 euros, Bank of Ireland is now valued at 10.5 billion euros. AIB, which closed down 24 cents to 11.76 euros yesterday, is now in second place with a valuation of 10.3 billion euros.
AIB's fall puts it well off its 52 week high of 13.55 euros. Yesterday's fall came despite the firm's announcement earlier this week that its pre-tax profits rose by over 10% to 1.25 billion euros last year.
Commenting on the rankings switch, analysts said that some concern has been expressed over AIB's Polish ventures, while Bank of Ireland is seen as a lower risk concern for investors.
