Public anger at bank still raw

Accusations by shareholders at yesterday’s Bank of Ireland annual general meeting of poor leadership, “undemocratic” election processes for board members, and excessive pay for management gave ample evidence that public anger towards the banks has not yet dissipated.

Despite early signs of a thaw in shareholders’ questions — beginning with two instances of people recognising the recent progress made by the bank — the gloves gradually came off.

One shareholder suggested that those most culpable for the banking crisis as a whole,“should be stripped of their Irish citizenship”, while John Flynn from Cork said the fact that nobody was being brought to book for the crisis was “bad for banking, bad for the economy and bad for the country”.