Having previously manoeuvred Bank of Ireland away from a low period as chief executive, Pat Molloy returned to the bank as governor two years ago. Kyran Fitzgerald asks if he can now pull off another rescue act at Ireland’s ‘least bad bank'

THE Department of Finance was aware Anglo Irish Bank was trying to place shares controlled by businessman Seán Quinn long before the controversial deal became public, it has been claimed.

FORMER Bank of Ireland chief executive Brian Goggin refused to be drawn into the controversy over who said what to the Government on the fateful night of September 29, 2008, when the bank guarantee was introduced to prevent a run on the Irish banks.

ANGLO Irish Bank chiefs made a desperate plea to Bank of Ireland to take it over on the same day the Government was holding crisis talks on the introduction of the blanket guarantee to protect the banking sector.

BANK of Ireland chairman Pat Molloy has strongly defended the company’s board of directors in the face of shareholder criticism but has admitted to bad management practices by the company’s former leadership.

TAOISEACH Brian Cowen is to be the guest of honour at this year’s Cork Chamber annual dinner.

Former Bank of Ireland governor Richard Burrows is to become chairman of global tobacco giant British American Tobacco (BAT), it was announced today.

BRITISH American Tobacco’s decision to appoint the former governor of the Bank of Ireland, Richard Burrows, as chairman of the world’s second largest cigarette manufacturer could get a hostile reception from the markets.

INCREASED margin pressure is likely to hit profits at the country’s two largest banks in the current year.

NEW Bank of Ireland governor Pat Molloy was quick to express his confidence in the bank’s future yesterday.

RICHARD BURROWS brought his four-year tenure as Bank of Ireland governor to an end yesterday, by telling shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting that full nationalisation of the bank would be resisted.

BANK of Ireland’s trading statement yesterday contained no talk about the green shoots of recovery appearing any time soon.

The chairman of Bank of Ireland has told shareholders that the bank's main priorities at the moment are to support its customers, to strengthen its capital and to actively manage its credit risks.

BANK of Ireland’s new chairman Pat Molloy said he is determined to do everything he can to guide the bank through difficult times.

Seventy-one year-old Pat Molloy will take over as chairman of Bank of Ireland when Richard Burrows stands down next month.

BANK of Ireland believes that in a worst-case scenarios it will have to write off €2 billion a year in bad loans to 2011 – at best, the write-offs will total €4.5bn.

ALTHOUGH his basic salary was cut, former Bank of Ireland chief executive Brian Goggin, who resigned from the company in February, still saw his overall remuneration package rise during the bank’s last financial year.

BRIAN LENIHAN last night insisted the Government was not planning to wind-down scandal-hit nationalised bank Anglo Irish.

BANK of Ireland (BoI) was the star performer in Dublin trading, yesterday, rising by well over 20% on the back of announcing a partial buy-back of its debt at a discount in order to boost its financial strength.

BANK OF Ireland chairman Richard Burrows will quit as governor of the bank in advance of its AGM in July.

More than 12,000 home-owners who have mortgages with Bank of Ireland are in negative equity, it was revealed today.

The ISEQ index of Irish shares was valued at 2,759.40 at 11am this morning.

The chairman of Bank of Ireland is to stand down in July over the lender’s losses, it was revealed today.

THE reality of the banking crisis took on a very human face at Bank of Ireland’s extraordinary general meeting held in the Savoy Cinema in Dublin yesterday.

An offer by Bank of Ireland’s directors to resign and seek re-election at their annual meeting in July was today dismissed as a charade.

Richie Boucher has been announced as the new group chief executive of Bank of Ireland.

BANK of Ireland chief executive, Brian Goggin, who retired yesterday from his €1 million-plus job, will be paid a salary until June 2010.

Bank of Ireland has announced pre-tax profits of €650m for the six months to the end of September, a drop of just over a third compared with the same period last ye

IRELAND is facing its first national bank strike in 15 years after Bank of Ireland (BoI) workers voted in favour of a 24-hour work stoppage.

IRISH banks suffered huge losses again yesterday as British lender Bradford & Bingley (B&B) warned of losses in the first quarter due to mounting bad debts.

Senior management at Bank of Ireland were unaware for several months that four laptops carrying information on 10,000 customers had been stolen, it emerged tonight.

Bank of Ireland Governor Richard Burrows spoke today of his horror over the theft of four laptops containing personal details of 10,000 customers.

CITYJET, the Dublin-based airline owned by Air France-KLM, saw its profits rise by 8% last year.

The former Irish Distillers managing director and current Governor of Bank of Ireland, Richard Burrows has been appointed a non-executive director of CityJet, the Dublin-based airline which is owned by Air France-KLM.

A FORMER editor-in-chief of The Economist has been made a non-executive director to the Board of Development Consultants International.

PAT HICKEY considered quitting as Olympic Council of Ireland president five years ago following a campaign to oust him from the role.

BANK OF IRELAND has controversially appointed multi-millionaire tax exile Denis O’Brien as its new deputy chairman.

FRENCH drinks giant, Pernod Ricard, which formally took control of rival Allied Domecq on Tuesday, has reported good sales across its various regions in its first half-year.

DRINKS and snack food group C&C could see its profits hit following the takeover by Pernod Ricard of Allied Domecq, whose brands it distributes in Ireland.

PERNOD Ricard SA, the world’s third-largest liquor maker made operating profits of €742m in 2004, mainly from its wine and spirits division.

THE joint managing director of international drinks company Pernod Ricard is to become the next Governor of the Bank of Ireland.

Bank of Ireland has announced the appointment of Richard Burrows as governor-designate. He will take over the job of governor from Laurence Crowley in July.

DCC founder and chief executive Jim Flavin is no stranger to trouble, having ridden his fair share of tough commercial patches and legal wrangles on his way to building the unique conglomerate that is DCC, reports Kyran Fitzgerald.

BORD BIA’S Brand Forum, constituting 90 food and drinks companies were given an upbeat assessment of the economy in Dublin last night.