Bank of Ireland has appointed Tom Hayes as chief executive of its corporate banking division. He replaces Richie Boucher, who recently became chief executive, retail financial services Ireland.

Mr Hayes joined Bank of Ireland in 1979 and moved to corporate banking in 1989 after holding a number of positions in retail banking. He became head of leveraged acquisition finance in 2000 before taking charge of specialised finance.

In this position, he had responsibility for a portfolio of international businesses including Burdale Financial, the UK asset-based lending company acquired by Bank of Ireland last year.

Mr Hayes holds a degree in banking and finance from University College Dublin (UCD).

In a separate development, Brendan O'Hora has been appointed as head of retail marketing for the Republic with Ulster Bank.

Mr O'Hora was previously head of marketing with First Active, having held that position since 2001. With Ulster Bank, he will have responsibility for the marketing in areas such as mortgages, savings and investments, personal current accounts and credit cards.

Mr O'Hora is a graduate of the College of Marketing & Design and also holds an MBA from the Michael Smurfit School of Business at UCD.