Bank officials shocked by BOI bonuses
Issued : 18 January 2011
Irish Examiner
The Finance Union IBOA has has said that Bank of Ireland's Chief Executive should apologise to the bank's staff over revelations that some senior staff in the bank have received substantial bonus payments.
IBOA General Secretary, Larry Broderick, said that the union's members in Bank of Ireland have been shocked to learn that a very small group of senior staff have received significant bonuses from the bank while the rest of the bank's employees have accepted a pay freeze and deferral of outstanding pay awards, a reduction in pension benefits and more than 2,500 redundancies in order to secure the viability of the bank.
Mr Broderick said: "To add insult to injury, quite literally, our members who have made these sacrifices have had to put up with abuse and derision from customers and the public at large in the mistaken belief that all Bank of Ireland staff have received these payments.
The IBOA has conveyed its feelings on the matter to Bank of Ireland senior management and has also written to the Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan seeking engagement on the reform of remuneration policies within the financial services sector.
Mr Broderick said: "It is long past time that we moved away from the reward practices introduced over the last decade or so which have distorted the significance of performance-related pay in comparison to basic pay.
"These practices have also facilitated the shift in the culture of banking towards an excessive obsession with amassing super-profits - at the expense of ordinary customers and staff - and with devastating consequences for the wider economy.
"I note that the Bank's Chief Executive has apologised unreservedly to the Minister for Finance for failing to make the information on these payments available earlier.
"I believe the Bank's senior management should also make a full apology to their staff who once again have to bear the brunt of the public's anger over actions taken by the Bank's top executives; and who will now have to try to restore the tarnished reputation of the Bank.
"Finally, I would urge the general public to resist venting their anger on their local Branch staff who feel equally aggrieved at the present situation," added the IBOA leader.
