Soden successor to be named this week

BANK OF IRELAND will move to appoint a successor to Michael Soden as early as this week, but the vacancy left by former Aer Lingus chairman Tom Mulcahy will remain unfilled until later in the summer.

Unlike many publicly quoted companies, Bank of Ireland has no deputy chief executive to take over on an interim basis from Mr Soden. Executive responsibility for the time being rests instead with an executive committee under the guidance of chairman Laurence Crowley.

The bank is understood to favour a quick succession after the weekend's surprise events. This means the shortlist of candidates to replace Mr Soden is likely to be made up exclusively of current executives.