Name: Maurice Keane
Age: 58
Family: Married to Rosemary Ohle, they have three children
Background: From Castleisland, Co Kerry, he went to school at the Good Counsel College in New Ross, Co Wexford. He studied for a Commerce degree as a night student and later completed a Masters degree in Economics.
Interests: He enjoys skiing
Why is he in the news? He recently led the £13 billion (€16.5 billion) merger talks between Bank of Ireland and the former UK building society the Alliance & Leicester. Together the enlarged group would have created the eighth largest bank in the UK. The talks collapsed last month but the bank is still focused on completing a large deal in that market.