AIB takes £39m hit over FRS 17
Allied Irish Bank has said that FRS 17, the controversial accounting rule on pension funds, is to blame for a forthcoming income reduction of euros 58m (£39m) in its accounts.
Link: FRS 17 special report
The bank, which last year suffered a $691m fraud in its US subsidiary, raised pre-tax profits to euros 1.38bn in 2002 from restated profits of euros 577m the previous year following the fraud.
Despite the profit increase, the bank admitted that it has taken a significant hit on its pension scheme registering a deficit of euros 482m in 2002 compared to a surplus of euros 314m in 2001. It blamed the change on FRS 17.