BoI chief survives Central Bank probe

Bank of Ireland chief executive Richie Boucher survived a probe that could have cost him his job after the Central Bank said it had found no reason to doubt the fitness to serve of some of the country’s senior bankers.

The Central Bank introduced a new regime for scrutinising bank boards last year, giving it the power to veto senior appointments or fire existing senior bank staff over their roles in the run-up to the country’s banking crisis.

Earlier this year the Central Bank wrote to Mr Boucher, head of the only lender to escape full state ownership, as well as the then chief of Irish Life & Permanent, Kevin Murphy, and EBS’s Fergus Murphy, warning they faced a potential probe.