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.

The Government had previously asked for a total clearout of board members appointed before Sept 2008, when it guaranteed the banks.

“In respect of any directors who are to continue in their roles into 2012 and beyond, and who were in place prior to 2008, the Central Bank has concluded that it has no reason to suspect the fitness and probity of those individuals,” the Central Bank said.

“In some cases this decision was taken internally within the Central Bank, and in others, the Central Bank sought an external opinion on the material available. to the Central Bank.

“No further actions will be taken by the Central Bank at this time.”

All other directors in place before 2008 stepped down ahead of the introduction of the new rules.

The Central Bank said it would “continue to carry out its role in respect of the supervision of the fitness and probity of ... directors”.

“Where any information comes to light to give the Central Bank reason to suspect that [its] standards may not be met by any individual director, then the Central Bank will commence to investigate that information in a thorough and comprehensive manner and take any action that may be warranted using the powers available to the Central Bank,”