The chairman of the EBS, Mr Henry O'Dwyer, who has worked for the society since 1971, has retired and will be replaced by Mr Brian Joyce, the chairman of CIE. Mr O'Dwyer told the meeting that during his time the society's assets had grown from £30 million to £3.5 billion. He said that, despite the dramatic growth rate, the society's mutual status remained unchanged and had been an important factor in its performance.

Mr O'Dwyer, who is stepping down having reached retirement age, has been non-executive chairman since 1993. He previously served as EBS managing director and as executive chairman.