Des Crowley: veteran of the bank

The self-confesssed "least worst" bank in Ireland is also the one with the least change of senior management.

While there has been considerable turnover of senior executives and divisional heads at AIB and Anglo Irish Bank, Bank of Ireland has managed to keep changes to a minimal. Pat Molloy, a revered former chief executive within the bank, has been brought in as chairman to replace Richard Burrows earlier this year.

Chief executive Richie Boucher has been with the bank since 2003. Initially head of corporate banking, he became head of its lending division in Ireland at the height of the Celtic Tiger. Boucher penned a letter to Dublin City Council on the bank's notepaper in 2007 in support of Sean Dunne's plan to transform the site of the former Jurys hotel in Ballsbridge. When Brian Goggin fell on his sword and retired early in 2009, Boucher's appointment was supported by finance minister Brian Lenihan.

Chief financial officer John O'Donovan joined Bank of Ireland nearly a decade ago from Aer Lingus. The Corkman is the longest-serving executive on the Bank of Ireland board.

Des Crowley and Denis Donovan are veterans of the bank, each with more than 20 years' experience. Crowley is head of Ireland and UK retail division, its day-to-day banking business. Donovan heads capital markets, the unit responsible for corporate banking and treasury operations.

While the bank's executives have largely avoided controversy, a move into majority government ownership could spell the end for Boucher after it emerged in April that his pension pot had received a €1.5m top-up in 2009. Although Boucher eventually agreed to waive the top-up, a new finance minister next year may not be as forgiving of the gaffe as Lenihan.