THE Allied Irish Bank group is currently the largest Irish investor in Poland, having invested £95 million for its 60 per cent share of the Wielkopolski Bank Kredytowy, better known as the WBK, which operates from Poznan in the west of the country.

AIB had been interested in the development of the Polish economy since the early 1990s and in 1995 bought up a small stake in the bank and then brought their ownership up to the 60 per cent mark two years later.

Right now AIB have 13 of their own people out there for two or three-year periods, including two members on the management board, one of these being Conor Sullivan, vice-president of the board. They also have five other people involved at top level.

The jobs of the Irish involved in Poznan are to help their Polish counterparts develop their systems and programmes. Apart from that, AIB also has four of its members on the supervisory side of the bank's council.