It is interesting to see the speculation on who is going to succeed Maurice Keane as chief executive at Bank of Ireland, and particularly whether the bank will go outside to find a new CEO.

Inevitably, given the growth of the business in recent years, Irish Life & Permanent boss David Went has been touted as a possible successor to Maurice Keane. Current Account hears, however, that David Went is intent on staying where he is at Irish Life and that there is little or no chance of him crossing the river to Bank of Ireland.

Given its conservative nature, it will be a big surprise if the bank does not appoint one of the next generation. The name of Brian Goggin, chief executive of the bank's corporate and treasury division, keeps cropping up as a possible successor and Current Account will not be surprised if that comes to pass.

Lots of speculation, needless to say, on the departure of Baltimore's head of marketing Paddy Holohan. Mr Holohan's decision to quit was announced with this week's results and costcutting announcement, and there has been speculation that his is the management head that had to fall to give some reassurance to the markets.

It is understood, however, that Paddy Holohan's departure had been planned for some months, and that this week's results announcement was seen by Baltimore as the best timing for a departure that was inevitably going to lead to gossip.

Given its history of strikes and low metal prices, there has always been speculation that Finnish giant Outokumpu might shut down Tara Mines. Certainly, the Finns have not had an easy time in Navan.

But given that Outokumpu has stumped up #35 million to buy the Bula part of the ore body with its one million tonnes of zinc metal, we can only assume that the Finns are in Navan for the long haul.

One aspect of the Tara/Bula deal that has gone relatively unnoticed is the impact it could have on Glencar, whose Liscarton licence contains a pocket of zinc mineralisation that is part of the main Navan ore body. Logic would suggest that Outokumpu will also buy out the Glencar interest in the ore body, which Davys's Job Langbroek has valued at #3.75 million. That's not a bad potential windfall for a company that is currently worth no more than #5 million on the market.

Add in the Minco/Noranda find at Pallasgreen in Limerick, and things are looking better for the mining industry.