BoI chief who viewed escort site gets €3m payoff
Details of the payoff will be revealed in the bank’s annual report, which is due to be published next week. The deal was brokered after long-running discussions between the bank and Mr Soden’s legal representatives.
Mr Soden quit last year after it was leaked to the media that he had breached the bank’s internal guidelines on computer usage by viewing material that was deemed inappropriate. Mr Soden’s computer had been used to view the services of a Las Vegas-based escort agency.
While Mr Soden technically resigned of his own accord, the bank faced a series of embarrassing questions about its handling of information that should have remained confidential and not been leaked outside the bank.
Mr Soden could have argued that his reputation had been damaged by the bank’s failure to fulfil its duties as an employer.
The €3 million package includes a cash lump sum, pension payments and share entitlements. It will bring the bank’s total payments to Mr Soden to over €7.5 million.
He spent less than three years with the bank after being headhunted from a senior position in Melbourne with National Australia Bank, the former owners of National Irish Bank.
He had beaten off strong competition from a number of rivals, drawn from within the bank and elsewhere, to land the top job thanks to an impressive track record with major financial institutions such as Citibank, the American giant.
He was paid €1.6 million in his last full year in charge. This comprised a basic salary of €900,000 and a performance-related bonus of €554,000, as well as pension and other benefits. His total remuneration in the year to March 2004 was 20% higher than in the previous year.
The disclosure of payments made to Mr Soden is necessary under reporting rules that govern publicly quoted companies.
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