Want to be a director of AIB?

Anyone interested in applying to become a nominee director for the State on the board of AIB will need to get a move on.

The closing date is May 11th, with the Government set to appoint one and possibly two people to the board of the bank, depending on the quality of the applications, which are being vetted by the Public Appointments Service.

According to the notice on Stateboards.ie, those chosen will be expected to attend monthly board meetings, except in August. The remuneration is a “non-pensionable” €65,000 a year – not bad given that the time commitment is expected to run to just 60 days a year.

The appointment is for an initial three years and there is also the potential for additional fees should they be appointed to one of the five subcommittees of the board.

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In addition, “reasonable expenses” will also be reimbursed on a “vouched basis”.

The new directors would assist the Minister for Finance in “monitoring” the State’s 71 per cent interest in AIB, which is currently valued at about €9.6 billion. They will effectively replace the public interest directors that were appointed post the crash in late 2008 when taxpayers bailed out the domestic banks to the tune of €64 billion. There are no public interest directors in situ at any of the domestic banks.

Applicants are expected to have expertise in one or more of the following areas: banking and finance, economics and public policy, accounting and auditing, and risk management.

Unsuccessful candidates might get a second bite of the cherry. Once the AIB process is out of the way, the State is expected to seek similar appointments at Bank of Ireland (where it holds a 14 per cent stake) and Permanent TSB (75 per cent).

Irish bank boardrooms might never be the same again.