Bank of Ireland chief executive to step down

Francesca McDonagh has resigned as Bank of Ireland's group chief executive officer and will step down in September after five years in the role.

She will take up a new job with Credit Suisse in Switzerland on 1 October.

"While I will leave Bank of Ireland with a heavy heart, I am proud of all that we have achieved," Ms McDonagh said in a statement.

The bank described her as an "exceptional chief executive" and the Irish finance minister said the company had "prospered" under her leadership.

When Ms McDonagh joined Bank of Ireland in 2017, she became the first ever female chief executive of a bank in the Republic of Ireland.

Her tenure has seen considerable structural change, with the coronavirus pandemic accelerating the move away from branches towards more online banking.

"Since taking up the position in 2017, she has driven – with ambition and commitment – a clear strategic focus on transformation, service improvement, and business growth," said Bank of Ireland chairman, Patrick Kennedy.

He said she had helped to deliver a "more efficient, digitally-enabled, customer-focussed and profitable bank".

Bank of Ireland announced the closures of about 100 branches across the island of Ireland last year in a cost-cutting drive.

This included shutting 15 branches in Northern Ireland - more than half of its total branch network north of the border.

Bank of Ireland is still part owned by the Irish state, but that is rapidly changing.

Like most Irish banks, the company got into trouble during the financial crisis and received a €4.8bn bailout from Irish taxpayers between 2009 and 2011.

It has since repaid that money with interest and over the course of the past year, the Irish government has reduced its shareholding in the bank from 13.9% in summer 2021 to less than 5% by the start of this month.

"Five years ago, we set out to transform the bank’s culture, systems and business model," Ms McDonagh said in a statement issued by Bank of Ireland.

"The benefits of this transformation have never been clearer than over the past two years as we navigated the pandemic while also agreeing two significant acquisitions.

"In addition, the strong progress we have made has facilitated the Irish government in selling down its shareholding and has further reset the state’s relationship with the bank," she added.

In a government statement, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said Ms McDonagh "was instrumental in driving a change in culture within the bank, seeing through the IT transformation programme, and also played a key role in helping customers and the country navigate their way through the recent Covid-19 crisis".

Mr Donohoe thanked Ms McDonagh for her "commitment and professionalism" and wished her future success.

Credit Suisse announced on Wednesday that she had been appointed chief executive of its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region and would be based in Zurich.

The Oxford University graduate will also become of member of Credit Suisse's executive board.

The Financial Times described Ms McDonagh's departure as a "surprise".