AIB (NI)

AIB (NI) (formerly known as First Trust Bank) is a commercial bank in Northern Ireland that is part of Allied Irish Banks's UK subsidiary AIB Group (UK) plc. It is one of the Big Four banks in Ireland. The bank was created in 1991 when TSB Northern Ireland merged with the AIB Group's other interests. The bank can trace its existence back to 1816 with the founding of the Belfast Savings Bank. The bank was one of the four banks that issued Pound Sterling banknotes in Northern Ireland until February 2019; First Trust notes are no longer legal currency since 30 June 2022. Allied Irish Banks confirmed plans to sell off the bank in April 2010 as part of plans to raise capital, however these plans were subsequently shelved and instead the bank announced investment plans starting in 2014. The bank traded as First Trust Bank in Northern Ireland until November 2019.