Bank of Ireland pulls off coup as it nabs Soden from rival

There has been intense speculation in recent months about who would get the top job at the Republic's second biggest bank. A subcommittee of the court of directors - comprising governors Mr Laurence Crowley, Ms Mary Redmond, Mr Tony Barry, Mr Denis O'Brien and Mr Ray MacSharry - were charged with finding a suitable candidate to lead the organisation over the next five years.

After months of deliberations, they pulled off a significant coup in attracting someone of the calibre of Mr Soden.

His arrival comes as a great surprise and, according to those who have come in contact with him in the past, signals some radical changes at the bank.

According to market sources everything he has done at National Australia Bank (NAB) since his arrival has worked out very well. He is a flamboyant, very personable individual and was popular throughout the bank.

He is said to be very demanding of his staff. People who are not performing to his expectations tend not to last very long.

"Shortly after his arrival in Melbourne a lot of people disappeared," one source said.

Insiders at the bank will be now anxiously awaiting to see how he will structure his management team when he arrives in September.

There will be great disappointment among the bank's current senior executive team that the job went to an outsider.

Bank of Ireland's chief executive of its corporate and treasury operations, Mr Brian Goggin, was viewed as being the odds-on favourite for the post, with others also considered as contenders.

In approaching Mr Soden, the bank has shown a determination to bring a truly international flair to the business at a time when the financial services markets are consolidating rapidly.

The consolation for internal candidates for the job is the breath of Mr Soden's experience. He has worked in almost every field of banking, from corporate and investment activities to retail banking.

The chief executives of NAB's banks in Ireland, Britain, Australia and New Zealand have reported to him since taking over the running of the retail business last year, so he has a great understanding of the issues facing this sector.

He has spent much of his career in London and is particularly familiar with the financial services sector there, which will have been very attractive to Bank of Ireland.

NAB has made no secret of the fact that it has been searching for an acquisition in Britain to make it a serious player there but has so far failed to achieve this ambition.

Mr Soden would have an intimate knowledge of these options and the market will be watching closely where he will take the bank. Market sources believe he will either be the man who will oversee the takeover of Bank of Ireland by a larger international financial institution or the man who will put it on the international stage through alliances and acquisitions.

The bank hired recruitment consultants to assist it in its trawl for a chief executive to succeed Mr Keane.

It would have found it difficult to attract candidates from Britain, where people of that calibre earn a significantly higher remuneration than their peers in Ireland. The strength of sterling against the euro would have diminished further the value of any package the bank could offer.

Mr Soden is a very wealthy individual, having briefly retired some years ago before taking up the fresh challenge of working for NAB. The move to one of the top jobs here is likely to have appealed to him at this stage of his working life. In Australia, banking industry executives are paid more in line with those in Ireland, once the weak Australian dollar is factored in. Nonetheless, Mr Soden's package at NAB last year was significantly higher than Mr Keane's.

According to NAB's annual report, Mr Soden received a total remuneration package worth 1.7 million Australian dollars (€1.05 million) compared with Mr Keane's package of €863,000.

His basic salary was Aus$731,246, compared with the €550,000 paid to Mr Keane. He received a lucrative bonus of Aus$828,025 compared with the €223,000 paid to the Bank of Ireland chief executive. His other benefits were also substantially greater at Aus$129,223 against €34,000 for Mr Keane.