Irish Nationwide are forced to table motions at AGM

THE Campaign for Reforming the Irish Nationwide has won a significant ruling over the building society that plans to go public within the next few years.

It emerged yesterday the Central Bank has forced the Irish Nationwide to table resolutions at the annual general meeting earlier rejected by the board of the society.

Irish Nationwide Building Society has been obliged by the Bank to table motions at the AGM on a range of issues.

They will be obliged to discuss the future direction of the society and the treatment of the Society's mortgage holders by the society over the years. Significantly, the Central Bank has obliged the Irish Nationwide directors to table a motion of no confidence in Michael Fingleton as managing director. The Society had rejected four motions by over 150 members of the Society put down in December 2002.

When rejected by the board they appealed to the Central Bank who ruled that the rights of members of the Irish Nationwide to discuss and vote on these issues, had been denied.

It has now directed the society to put down five resolutions covering the same substantive issues for the forthcoming AGM. The Central Bank also directed that the Society send each member a statement from the proposers of the original motions, Shane Hogan and Brendan Burgess. The motions, statements and notice of the AGM will be posted out to members tomorrow.

One of the original motions called for the board to make a commitment to demutualise the Society within a specific time scale, but apparently the 1989 Building Societies Act makes is practically impossible for such a motion to go forward. In effect, members of a mutual such as the Irish Nationwide or the EBS have no right to initiate a demutualisation. Only the board can initiate a demutualisation proposal.

This is the first time the Central Bank has responded to consumer pressure in supporting the interests of members of a mutual society.