Bailout era BoI directors to exit

BANK of Ireland directors Tom Considine and Pat Butler will retire from the board with effect from 31 December 2017, the bank has announced.

Both men are non-executive directors. Mr Considine is a former Secretary General of the Department of Finance. He was appointed as a so-called public interest director of Bank of Ireland in 2009 in the wake of its bailout by the State.

The public interest directors appointed by Ministers for Finance after the crash as a condition of bank bailouts included four former cabinet ministers: Dick Spring, Ray McSharry, Joe Walsh and Alan Dukes, as well as former and retired civil servants.

The bulk of the original appointees across all the banks have now moved on.

Pat Butler, who is also stand- ing down, is an expert in financial restructuring and joined the board in 2011.

Bank of Ireland chairman Archie Kane thanked both for their service to the bank.

“On behalf of the board, I wish to thank Tom and Pat or their diligence and commitment as board members during a period which has seen Bank of Ireland transformed from an organisation in difficulty to one which has returned to profit and which is well-positioned to deliver on its strategic objectives to customers and shareholders,” he said.

Meanwhile, AIB’s strong share price and operating performance since its share sale in June means the Government may look to pursue a further stake sale in 2018, analysts at Davy said yesterday. Market conditions are “favourable” and investors remain engaged on the AIB story,” Davy analysts said.