Richie Boucher has been appointed Bank of Ireland's new Chief Executive, succeeding Brian Goggin who announced his retirement in January. Mr Boucher is to take up his appointment immediately.
He currently heads the bank's Retail Financial Services division and will continue to take responsibility for that section pending the appointment of a replacement.
Mr Boucher has been the chief executive of Bank of Ireland’s Irish Retail Division since January 2006. He was appointed as a Director of the Group in October 2006. He joined Bank of Ireland in December 2003 from Royal Bank of Scotland.
Announcing the appointment, the Governor of Bank of Ireland, Richard Burrows, said: “Richie Boucher has a broad range of banking experience and is an outstanding leader. I and my fellow directors are confident that Richie will provide strong leadership to Bank of Ireland Group at this very challenging time.”
Mr Boucher he was "very conscious of the current state of the financial services industry, the low opinion in which the general public views banks and the very difficult economic conditions that we face".
He accepted the bank had "an uphill battle" as it worked “towards restoring the trust and confidence of our customers, stockholders and the general public”.