Allied Irish Banks said Wednesday that its first-half net loss widened to 1.7 billion euros, from 786 billion euros in the year-ago period. Net interest income declined 28% to 1.2 billion euros. The firm took a 963 million euro loss when it transferred assets to the Irish government's National Asset Management Agency. "Business and market conditions remain challenging and the environment for operating income generation remains difficult. In the short term, the key priorities for AIB are to complete the transfer of eligible loans to NAMA, execute the capital plan and conclude the restructuring plan process with the European Commission," it said. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/allied-irish-banks-posts-wider-first-half-loss-2010-08-04 Banking recovery a la Irish... Down 5.6 % in London...