Questions from the floor have turned Irish Nationwide's annual meeting into a more colourful affair, writes Siobhán Creaton, Finance Correspondent.

Irish Nationwide's managing director, Mr Michael Fingleton, may have emerged victorious, but the building society would do well to reflect on the level of dissatisfaction among some of its customers and the reasons for its tarnished image.

It is undeniable that the small building society is extremely profitable. In 2002 its pre-tax profits rose by 26 per cent to €97 million.

Mr Fingleton also loves to boast about its spectacularly low cost base, which, when measured as a ratio of costs to income, is 22 per cent compared with an average of 50 per cent at many of its rivals.

The Irish Nationwide also offers attractive interest rates on its deposit accounts, something which accounts for the large number of satisfied customers who have only good things to say about the controversial managing director.

In the past, Irish Nationwide's annual general meetings have tended to be pretty mundane.

A few years ago, an elderly woman sitting near me snored through most of it, while others complained about how mean the society was to provide only tea and a biscuit after the annual gathering.

But in the past couple of years, a small group of individuals have been asking pertinent questions about how the society is run.

Others have been turning up at the meeting to highlight disputes with the society, usually related to their mortgages.

Mr Fingleton and some of his supporters complained bitterly at the meeting that the society gets more than its fair share of bad press and they just can't understand why.

Could it be something to do with the arrogant and cavalier way that Mr Fingleton treats legitimate queries about the society?

The managing director had to be forced into disclosing his €835,000 pay package to the members who own the society following questions from the floor.

And, for a small financial institution, it seems incredible that disgruntled members have had to make so many representations to the Central Bank to seek to have their concerns placed on the agenda.

The Irish Nationwide has in many ways lost the trappings of a building society as more than 50 per cent of its loan book is to fund commercial property projects. Its share of the residential mortgage market, where it was once strong, has declined consistently.

This is not unrelated to the higher penalties and charges that many of its customers have been forced to pay over the years. It also has something to do with the aggressive actions it has taken when pursuing certain customers who are unable to keep up their repayments, by seeking court orders to repossess their homes.

The group that is currently the thorn in Mr Fingleton's side can claim some credit for ensuring that Irish Nationwide will treat many borrowers in a more equitable way in future.

It's a pity Mr Fingleton has turned this long-established building society into such a war zone.

A little more humility and civility, together with a lot more transparency, would go a long way towards enhancing its reputation.