BoI chief who viewed escort site gets €3m payoff

BANK OF IRELAND has agreed a €3 million golden handshake deal with Michael Soden, the former chief executive who resigned last year after using his work computer to access the website of an escort agency.

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.