IRISH NATIONWIDE chief executive Michael Fingleton is staying on to run the building society, even though his employment contract with the lender expires later this week.
Sunday newspaper reports said that Mr Fingleton had agreed to stay on at the building society but that he will not have a fixed-term contract.
Mr Fingleton resigned as managing director and a director of the building society in January 2008 as he had to step down from the board under the building society’s rules when he turned 70.
After stepping down from the board, Mr Fingleton assumed the role of chief executive under a year-long contract which expires at the end of this month.
The building society is seeking to appoint a chief operating officer, a chief financial officer and a chief risk officer after being directed by the Financial Regulator last month to strengthen the institution’s management team.
Dr Michael Walsh resigned as chairman of Irish Nationwide last week. In the second of two resignation letters, he said the building society “cannot survive” without significant Government support.
However, he later told Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan that he was referring to the importance of the State’s bank guarantee scheme in his statement.
Irish Nationwide’s board said there were “no commercial issues” which would have affected Dr Walsh’s decision to resign.
Mr Lenihan met Mr Fingleton and the society’s acting chairman Terence Cooney last week following Dr Walsh’s resignation.
The Government is assessing the capital needs for Irish Nationwide, Irish Life & Permanent and EBS building society, following the recapitalisation of AIB and Bank of Ireland and the nationalisation of Anglo Irish Bank.
The Department of Finance is expected to start recapitalisation talks with the lenders shortly.
