Bankers

Lot's of interesting news coming over the airwaves from the Bank of Ireland EGM. Despite the somber mood of many of the shareholders, there was some levity when company Chairman Richard Burrowes claimed that appointing Richie Boucher was of benefit to the bank and was met with widespread laughter from shareholders. You may remember Richie as man who was sure that Seán Dunne was a safe bet. Better to laugh than cry I suppose.

The shareholders, including the pension funds which many of us have been paying into for the past few years under advice from the great and the good, have seen the value of their shares fall from over €10 last year to €0.50 yesterday.

But it's all fine, because Richard Burrowes used the occasion to apologise to investors saying that he and his fellow directors regretted the losses that the shareholders had suffered. Yet, despite the fact that the share price has fallen by 95%, the board of directors are taking a pay cut of just 25%. Which means that Burrowes pay for his part time position will fall to a paltry €400,000 a year.

The venue of the Savoy was an appropriate one, however; I can reccomend 'The International' (which you can read the synopsis of here) as being particularly appropriate for any shareholders who want to get over the stress of the EGM with a bit of escapism...