Fingleton to retire as CEO at end of month

IRISH NATIONWIDE chief executive Michael Fingleton will retire from the building society at the end of this month, the financial institution said in a statement.

Ending weeks of speculation about Mr Fingleton’s future, Irish Nationwide said he would retire after 37 years on April 30th.

The Government had pressed for a change of management at the building society and a restructuring of the lender’s board after it emerged last month that Mr Fingleton was paid a bonus of €1 million last November, just weeks after the Government introduced the €440 billion bank guarantee.

Irish Nationwide said Danny Kitchen, a board member of the building society, would become non-executive chairman and would act as chief executive in the short term, pending the recruitment of Mr Fingleton’s successor.

The building society said the board of Irish Nationwide would be restructured and that the board proposed to change the society’s rules at the upcoming annual meeting to increase the number of directors to 10 from eight.

The announcement of Mr Fingleton’s retirement came as the board of the building society was due to meet Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan for a second time this week after he sought a review of Irish Nationwide’s board and management structure last week.

Irish Nationwide said the board had been aware for some time that Mr Fingleton was “seeking to retire and intended to do so on February 28th, 2009, on completion of his extended contract”.

The building society said he had “deferred his retirement to the end of this month to facilitate the society” following the resignation of Dr Michael Walsh as chairman in February. Mr Fingleton agreed to return the bonus last Friday, but said he was legally entitled to it. He said in a statement last week that the bonus was part of “a contractual and binding agreement” with the building society and had “nothing to do with the Government guarantee scheme”.

However, he said he decided to repay the money because of the effect on his family “with a continuing 24-hour media siege on his home” and due to the impact it may have on the building society.

Mr Fingleton was forced to step down as managing director in January 2008 when he turned 70 under the building society’s rules and agreed to become chief executive on a one-year contract.

The Green Party had called for Mr Fingleton’s resignation over the €1 million bonus and his €27.6 million pension arrangements, and later said the repayment of his bonus was insufficient.

The report from the Government-appointed bank remuneration committee last month showed that Mr Fingleton received a 12 per cent pay rise this year, bringing his salary to €1 million.

The committee recommended that Irish Nationwide’s chief executive be capped at €360,000 a year.

A native of Tubbercurry, Co Sligo, Mr Fingleton joined the Irish Industrial Benefit Building Society in 1972 before it was renamed Irish Nationwide in 1975.

He was paid a total of €7.7 million over the past five years.