Irish Life's CEO Resigns Amidst AIB Scandal

The Chief Executive of Irish Life & Permanent plc, Denis Casey, informed the Board of the Company on Friday that he will be resigning his position, after coming under both private and public pressure from Finance Minister Brian Lenihan.

Mr Casey originally offered to resign after a scandal over an apparent 8.2 billion euro dig-out of its troubled competitor, Anglo-Irish Bank came to light but the company's board decided to allow him to continue.

Controversially Mr Casey will remain as Acting Group Chief Executive for a transition period to "assist the Board and the Group" which is "beginning a process of identifying, recruiting and bedding in a suitable successor" according to a statement from the company.

Irish Life's Chairman, Gillian Bowler, said that she accepted the notification of resignation with the "utmost regret".

She said: "Denis Casey is a man of the highest integrity and honour. I have always held him in the highest regard as a colleague and as a friend and I know that his decision today - as always - has been prompted by his dedication and loyalty to the company."

The Chairman indicated that the Board would immediately proceed to seek a successor for Mr. Casey.

In the meantime, the Chairman indicated that she would work closely with Denis and the Group's senior management team to support the Group's progress over the coming months.

Commenting on Casey's resignation, the Minister for Finance, Mr. Brian Lenihan T.D. said: "Last night I stated that the Board of Irish Life and Permanent must discharge its responsibilities in relation to the serious matters that have arisen.

"I welcome Mr. Casey's decision to resign from his position in the Group.

"This is an essential first step in repairing the reputational damage done to the Irish financial system by this transaction."

Irish Life's finance director, Peter Fitzpatrick, and the head of group treasury, David Gantly, had already stepped down following the row over a €7 billion deposit made with Anglo Irish Bank last year, which seems to have been made in an attempt to artificially boost the bank's financial strength.

Irish Life denied this, saying that it was simply following the "policy objective of both the Central Bank and the Financial Regulator that Irish financial institutions would work to support each other in the face of an unprecedented threat to the stability of the Irish financial system arising from the international credit crisis."

The Chairman of the Board, Gillian Bowler, had said that while it was clear that the only motivation of the individuals concerned was to support the policy objective of the Financial Regulator and the Central Bank, the manner in which specific support was advanced to Anglo Irish Bank during 2008 had been wrong: "I have absolutely no doubt about the integrity of the individuals concerned.

"However in providing support to the broader financial infrastructure, mistakes were made - for which I and the Board apologise unreservedly."