Dolmen Butler Briscoe this week downgraded leading Irish financial stock AIB to hold, as the share price hit the broker's €10.50 (£8.27) target. The target price is based on a sum of the parts value per share, and assumes a sustainable return on equity for the Irish retail banking division of 25 per cent, and a value of 1.9 times net assets for Allfirst, the US division.

Dolmen is recommending its clients to switch into Bank of Ireland at current levels. The broker's target price for Bank of Ireland is €8, based on a sustainable return on equity of 35 per cent for its retail division, and a value of 1.75 times net assets for Bristol and West in Britain.