Bank of Ireland governor Burrows set to step down

Published on Sunday 17 May 2009 21:06

BANK of Ireland governor Richard Burrows will announce his intention to resign from the bank's board within weeks, it was reported yesterday.

A bank spokeswoman declined to comment.

Reports emerged that the bank would announce Burrows' departure before its annual shareholders' meeting in July as part of a wider board shake-up.

Bank of Ireland, in which the Irish government holds 25 per cent voting rights stake after a 3.5 billion (3.1bn) capital injection, will tomorrow announce its results for the year to the end of March.

A newspaper yesterday said the bank was expected to write off 1.4bn in bad debts, wiping out its entire profits.

Burrows was appointed to Bank of Ireland's board of governors – or "court" – in 2000.

He served as deputy governor between 2002 and 2005 and as senior independent director from 2003 to 2005. He became governor in July 2005.

Between 2000 and 2005, he also served as co-chief executive of Pernod Ricard, having previously been chief executive of Irish Distillers Group between 1978 and 2000.

Burrows' departure would leave Gillian Bowler, chairwoman of Irish Life & Permanent, as the only chairman or chief executive to survive the upheaval at Ireland's listed institutions.

In February, Bank of Ireland appointed Richie Boucher as group chief executive after the early resignation of Brian Goggin.