Director favours sale to 'bigger partner'

THE managing director of the Irish Nationwide Building Society said it has begun the process of demutualisation and he favours a sale to another financial organisation.

Michael Fingleton, the veteran head of the society, said yesterday that it had begun preparing for demutualisation in advance of changes to the Building Societies Act, which will allow the Irish Nationwide to float on the stock exchange or be sold to another bank.

The move will trigger windfall bonuses for thousands of members of the society and the process could be underway this autumn.