But you also have banks like the National Bank of Greece, Allied Irish Bank, La Caixa Barcelona and Societe Generale.

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In 2010, both Irish banks tested, Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Bank, were given a clean bill of health.

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So it has tied up with Allied Irish Bank (AIB), Ireland's largest.

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There are fears about bank runs in Ireland and the New York Times has reported that Allied Irish Bank and Anglo Irish Bank have seen billions of euros get sucked out in recent months.

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London-based Independent Strategy suggests going long on Irish sovereign debt and buying the senior debt of a few selected Irish banks, including Allied Irish and Bank of Ireland.

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Shares in Allied Irish Banks and Bank of Ireland have fallen sharply.

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Achilleas Kallakis and Alexander Williams were sentenced to seven years and five years at Southwark Crown Court for defrauding Allied Irish Banks and Bank of Scotland.

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The failure of the Irish economy, for example, presided over by the auditors of Anglo Irish (EY, also auditor to Lehman), Allied Irish (KPMG), Irish Nationwide (KPMG) and the Bank of Ireland (PwC) has had a significant impact on the global financial system and global economy.

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Unlike British banks, HSBC and Barclays, Allied Irish did not get a boost from buoyant investment bank earnings, with revenues from asset management, investment banking and wealth management all down.

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American depositary receipts of Allied Irish Banks, which is expected to be effectively nationalized, were up 4.8%, while Bank of Ireland, which is trying to raise private cash to avoid an increase in the government's 36% ownership stake, was up 15.3%.

FORBES: Magazine Article