Bank chief’s deal detached from reality

THERE seems to be something crudely detached from the prevailing realities of life in Ireland and brazenly indifferent to public policy about the decision by the court of the Bank of Ireland (BoI) with respect to the recently disclosed pension arrangements for chief executive Richie Boucher.

The BoI staff pension scheme reports a deficit of more than €1.6bn. The group lost in excess of €1.8bn for the nine months of 2009 since the appointment of Mr Boucher as chief executive. It is disposing of businesses that it can no longer sustain.

BoI cannot afford such extravagant and grandiose pension arrangements, nor can the Irish taxpayer who is called on to compensate for the consequences of a diabolical trading performance.