Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan has called for a complete review of senior bankers’ pension arrangements and said former Irish Nationwide chief executive Michael Fingleton must repay his €1 million bonus.
Mr Ryan said banks needed to regain the trust of Government and the public, and welcomed Bank of Ireland chief executive Richie Boucher’s move on Wednesday night to effectively forgo his €1.5 million pension top-up.
“I think it was very important that that decision was made not to provide that, not to follow that pension payment. I think it’s equally important, if not more important, that Mr Fingleton does return [the bonus],” he said.
“The right message went out yesterday and the right response came in terms of one particular pension arrangement but there’s more work to be done.”
Asked if other pension arrangements in financial institutions should be reviewed, Mr Ryan said: “Certainly, yes, across our banking system and related systems I think there needs to be a complete review.”
He said the business of banking needed to be based on trust, but “the banks have lost our trust, our public trust and Government’s trust, and they need to get that trust back”.
Putting an end to the sort of pay and pension arrangements that had been in place in the banking sector was part of the change of culture that was needed.
The move by Mr Boucher to effectively forgo his €1.5 million pension top-up has been widely welcomed.
Mr Boucher's decision came after Taoiseach Brian Cowen said earlier that such a move from Mr Boucher would help secure the Croke Park agreement between the Government and the public service unions.
It also followed remarks by Labour Relations chief executive Kieran Mulvey such awards were creating a negative climate and would discourage acceptance of the proposed new pay deal.
A spokesman for the Taoiseach last night welcomed the fact that Mr Boucher had responded to the public concern as articulated by Mr Cowen.
Questioned by journalists yesterday afternoon, the Taoiseach repeated that the Government had no legal right to intervene in the matter but added that a decision by Mr Boucher to forgo his pension top-up “obviously would help in public perception terms”.
Mr Cowen said the issue for him as Taoiseach was to make sure how people responded to the Croke Park deal “in respect of how we can develop our public services, develop the flexibilities that we need. . . that’s what the Croke Park deal is about and I hope that people can see that big picture as well.”
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny welcomed Mr Boucher’s decision but added: “This issue should never have arisen in the first place. And it’s no thanks to Brian Cowen that the decision has been changed.
“I hope on foot of this decision that Michael Fingleton will respond in a similar fashion and return his €1 million bonus payment,” he added.
In a statement, Mr Boucher said that he was sensitive to the comment about his pension arrangements and had decided to waive the option to retire at 55. That option would have allowed Mr Boucher, who is 51, whose current salary is €623,000, to retire on a pension of €367,570 a year at 55.
He said Bank of Ireland was currently engaged in a very comprehensive programme of work aimed at rebuilding the group.
“Although I have been out of the country for this week engaged in intensive work in relation to these priorities, I have kept abreast of and I am sensitive to the current comment and debate about my pension arrangements.”
He said his priority was to restore the strength of the business and support economic recovery. “In this regard I am determined that none of us in Bank of Ireland should be distracted from this critically important task. Therefore, I have decided to waive my option to retire on pension at age 55.”