Commercial issues not behind Irish Nationwide resignation

The former chairman of Irish Nationwide says there are no commercial issues which impacted on his decision to resign from the position yesterday.

In a statement issued today, the building society says it regretted Michael Walsh's decision and thanked him for his contribution to the firm.

Mr Walsh resigned following reports that Irish Nationwide lent former Anglo Irish Bank chairman Sean Fitzpatrick tens of millions worth of sterling and dollars.

The foreign currency was reportedly part of Mr Fitzpatrick's controversial transfer of personal loans between Anglo and Irish Nationwide in order to conceal them from Anglo's auditors.

The Irish Nationwide board, which met today, has agreed to appoint vice-chairman Terence Cooney as acting chairman until a permanent replacement is found.