Changes near top at KBC Bank Ireland

KBC Bank Ireland is appointing Wim Verbraeken chief financial and operating officer in a management shake-up at the troubled lender. Mr Verbraeken will replace Ian Black, who is leaving the bank after 25 years, "to pursue his career elsewhere", the bank said yesterday.

Mr Verbraeken was senior managing director at Absolut Bank, which KBC Group, the Irish institution's Belgian parent, sold earlier this year. The bank also plans to appoint Barry D'Arcy as head of finance.

Head of finance Noelle Condon is leaving to "take up a new opportunity". Richard Sloane, former head of home mortgages, and John Delaney, who was head of consumer services, left the lender at the end of March.

Its chief executive John Reynolds said "personnel changes are a normal part of any business and are to be expected as people pursue new opportunities elsewhere". The bank's parent was "very supportive" of the Irish management.

Brussels-based KBC has forecast that its Irish unit will need to set aside as much as €400 million of loan-loss provisions this year, as it grapples with the legacy of the Republic’s real estate collapse. Its net loss grew to €306 million last year from €269 million in 2011.