Allied Irish Banks, one of the banks that brought Ireland to the brink of bankruptcy, has nominated a new chairman as the government begins to plot the reprivatisation of the state-owned lender.
AIB said that Richard Pym, a former chief executive of Alliance and Leicester and current chairman of the Co-operative Bank, will take over the chairmanship of the nationalised Irish bank from David Hodgkinson in October, FastFT reports.
Mr Pym has already announced that he will stand down as chairman of the troubled Co-operative Bank later this year, while Mr Hodgkinson will retire from the AIB altogether in December.
The incoming chairman said: “I am delighted to accept the invitation to be the next chairman of AIB and I look forward to contributing to the progress that has already been made in re-building a strong bank.
“Irish taxpayers have made considerable sacrifices in supporting the banking system and I am very conscious of my responsibilities in that regard.”
Meanwhile AIB chief executive David Duffy wanted to make a point out of praising the outgoing chairman, after a bruising four years at the bank.
He said: “David deserves immense credit for his determination in helping AIB to recover and stabilise. He joined the bank as chairman at a time of extreme crisis and has led the company through a turbulent and difficult time.”
