Desmond praises work of top managers

BILLIONAIRE financier Dermot Desmond praised the efforts of outgoing top executives at AIB in trying to find a way out of the current banking crisis.

A statement read on his behalf to the AIB EGM by John Bateson, finance director of Mr Desmond’s investment group, IIU, said: “We would like to place on record our acknowledgement of their commitment and contribution to the bank.”

The statement made particular mention of the executives’ efforts in the initial stages of “seeking a way forward out of the current difficult situation”.

Welcoming the appointment of Dan O’Connor as chairman of the group Mr Desmond noted his outstanding track record with Woodchester and GE Consumer Finance.

His expertise was without question and “is without parallel in the Irish financial sector, he said.

In that context, he said the hunt for a new chief executive, which has already begun, was of “critical importance”.

“This must be a person who brings significant talent, experience and objectivity to the role, who can hit the ground running to make an immediate positive impact”.

Recently the financier urged that the new National Assets Management Agency (NAMA) resist valuing the toxic assets of the banks in the current difficult circumstances. To value those assets in the current state of the market would only serve to undermine the stability of the Irish banks even further, he said.