("AIB") (NYSE: AIB) Chairman's speech to AIB Extraordinary General Meeting in AIB Group, Bankcentre, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, Ireland Check against delivery

Good morning ladies and gentlemen.

We have a quorum, so I now formally open the EGM.

I'm joined on the platform on my right by John O'Donnell, our Group Finance Director, and Eugene Sheehy, our Group Chief Executive. To my left is Liam Kinsella, the Company Secretary, and on my far left is Bryan Sheridan, our Group Law Agent.

We have significant business to conduct today and I know that many shareholders will wish to speak.

I am acutely aware of the anger and disappointment among shareholders and of the individual hardships brought about by the fall in our share price and the temporary cessation of dividend payments.

My intention is to allow as many people as possible to speak and to try and respond to your questions and comments as clearly as possible.

I will respond in writing to the many shareholders who have written to me in advance of the meeting in the coming weeks.

When our EGM finishes, and after you've had your chance to vote on the resolutions, we will break to allow the poll votes to be counted, a process that the Registrar tells me will take up to one and a half hours.

Food and refreshments will be provided during this break.

We will then commence the AGM and carry on until all business is complete.

Before I open to comments and questions from the floor, I wish to say a few short words about the events of the past year.

Over the past twelve months, we have witnessed extraordinary volatility in financial markets and economies worldwide, the consequences of which are being felt by everyone, everywhere.

However, aside from the impacts of the world recession, decisions were made in Ireland and here in AIB which have compounded the effects of the worst economic downturn in living memory.

In common with the European and US Banking systems, in common with our customers, Irish people and businesses, and in common with the Irish State, we believed the momentum in world economies, including Ireland, would continue for some time, and would slow gently, rather than abruptly.

Regrettably, we were wrong in that view.

With hindsight I regret some of the lending decisions that were made, particularly in relation to property development here in Ireland.

Most of all, I regret the impact of those decisions on our shareholders, our customers, our staff, and on everyone else affected either directly or indirectly, and, on behalf of the Bank, I apologise unreservedly to you for the anxiety and distress that shareholders have suffered.

I have decided to retire in July. In simple terms it's the correct thing to do. The Shareholders and the other Stakeholders in the Bank are entitled to a clear signal of accountability.

There is a need for change.

With this recapitalisation we turn a page, open a new chapter.

My own decision to retire is made much much easier by the availability of 2 candidates within the Board with exceptional experience of banking outside Ireland to take over as Chair and Deputy Chair.