Former Bank of Ireland boss McDonagh to leave Credit Suisse for new role

Former Bank of Ireland chief executive Francesca McDonagh is to leave her role at Credit Suisse after little more than a year.

The executive, who led Bank of Ireland from 2017 to 2022, “has decided to leave Credit Suisse to pursue a new opportunity outside of the bank”, chief executive Ulrich Korner wrote in a memo to staff on Monday seen by The Irish Times.

As a result of Ms McDonagh’s departure, Mr Korner announced a slew of organisational changes that will take effect from September 15th. Ms McDonagh “will remain available to ensure a smooth transition”, he added.

Ms McDonagh “led the development and execution of Credit Suisse’s cost transformation programme, as one of the key pillars of our strategic plan, and following the announcement of the acquisition, led the integration work for Credit Suisse on behalf of the ExB through to the close of the transaction in June,” he wrote.

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The former Bank of Ireland boss is to take up a new position as CEO from January, the Financial Times reported citing people familiar with the matter. The FT first reported her departure from Credit Suisse.

Ms McDonagh has been touted as a candidate for the top job at UK banking giant NatWest, to replace Alison Rose who left in July amid a so-called debanking scandal. That lender named Rick Haythornthwaite as its next chairman last week. NatWest has previously said Mr Haythornwaite, who will joint the board in January before becoming chairman in April, will lead the process of hiring a new chief executive.

A Credit Suisse spokesman confirmed Ms McDonagh is leaving the bank. A NatWest spokesman declined to comment.

Ms McDonagh, who led Bank of Ireland through the pandemic and was instrumental in pushing the company towards being the first Irish bank to return fully to private ownership after the financial crisis a decade ago, moved to Credit Suisse as chief operating office last year. Yet just months later Credit Suisse was taken over by long-time rival UBS, effectively saving the bank from collapse. While she had been kept on by UBS, she reportedly missed out on a senior role at the enlarged firm.