Bank of Ireland senior executive Mick Sweeney to step down

Senior Bank of Ireland executive Mick Sweeney, who has led a number of group businesses over the past 15 years, has signalled he will be leaving the lender later this year.

His departure was announced to staff on Friday and it is believed that Mr Sweeney (56) is exploring a number of Brexit-related opportunities in the financial sector. He wasn’t available for comment.

Appointed chief executive of the Bank of Ireland Global Markets business in 2003, Mr Sweeney became chief executive of global asset management in 2006, a position he held for four years before the bank sold its Bank of Ireland Asset Management and securities services units.

In 2010, Mr Sweeney was asked to head up the group's wealth management operations before he was appointed last year as interim managing director of the bank's insurance subsidiary, New Ireland Assurance, as it sought to find a new head of the unit.

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Willis Towers Watson executive Michael Murphy was named as the new managing director in April.

Liam McLoughlin, chief executive of Bank of Ireland’s Retail Ireland division said that Mr Sweeney’s decision to leave the bank followed “a distinguished career serving in a number of senior roles”.

Mr Sweeney has represented the bank on a number of industry bodies over the years and, most recently, was elected to the board of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce.

Dublin hubs

“Mick has made a significant contribution to the group and, on behalf of my colleagues across the business, I wish him well for the future,” said Mr McLoughlin.

His departure comes as a number of overseas financial institutions, from Wall Street giant Bank of America Merrill Lynch to Lloyds of London insurer Beazley, have signalled they will establish hubs in Dublin to maintain access to the single market as the UK prepares to leave the European Union.

Mr Sweeney's announcement also comes as group chief executive of 8½ years Richie Boucher prepares to retire in October. He will be succeeded by HSBC executive Francesca McDonagh.

Bank of Ireland reported late last month that its first-half underlying profit came to €480 million, beating market expectations. The figure was down 14.3 per cent on the same period in 2016, when the result was flattered by €157 million of one-off gains from the sale of the bank’s stake in Visa Europe and sovereign bond investments.