AIB has named Geraldine Casey, a one-time executive with Tesco Ireland who joined the bank in 2019, as the managing director of its key retail banking division.
Ms Casey, previously AIB’s chief people officer, succeeds Jim O’Keeffe, who left the bank during the summer after more than three decades with the lender.
The promotion puts Ms Casey in charge of AIB’s largest division, which had €34.7 billion of loans and €79.4 billion of customer deposits at the end of June, about 170 branches across the State, and 4,000 staff. Before joining AIB, the executive had spent 19 years with Tesco Ireland, where she had started off on a graduate programme.
AIB has backfilled Ms Casey’s previous position with David McCormack, who was previously deputy chief people officer.
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The bank has also named Graham Fagan as chief technology officer, succeeding Fergal Coburn, who also departed the group in recent months after more than 22 years.
The developments came as AIB said on Wednesday that it has been informed that the State’s stake in the bank has fallen below the 46 per cent level as it continues to drip feed stock on to the market. The Government’s holding stood at 71 per cent in early 2022 before the sell-down programme commenced. The stake fell below the key 50 per cent level in June.
“I’m delighted that three proven leaders are taking the next steps in their careers with us at AIB, reflecting the strong quality of management in our organisation. Geraldine’s retail and people experience will bring an even greater customer, commercial and people focus to our retail business,” said group chief executive Colin Hunt.
Ms Casey’s appointment means that AIB’s three revenue-generating divisions are now all run by women. Cathy Bryce is managing director of AIB’s capital markets unit, while Hilary Gormley is managing director of AIB UK.
The net interest income of AIB’s retail banking division more than doubled on the year in the first half of 2023 to €1.08 billion, driven by interest made on excess deposits stored with the Central Bank amid rising official rates.
