THE Irish Nationwide has no immediate plans to change its status to that of a publicly quoted company, its managing director, Mr Michael Fingleton, has told its members.
Speaking at the building society's annual general meeting in Dublin yesterday, Mr Fingleton said that while there was nothing to stop it from becoming a plc, it had "no intention" of changing its status.
"Unlike some building societies, we have no philosophies on our preferred status and we should not, and will not, close off any options," he said. "Mutuality is a broad concept, but it is not the only option.
The society, he added, would be watching what was going on in the market and, if and when a decision was taken, it would discuss its plans with the members.
It is also awaiting a Government decision to increase competition in the banking sector. Irish Nationwide had made a bid for the TSB Bank and had expressed an interest in buying the State owned ACCBank, he said. It was also looking at other takeover and merger options in the Irish market. It was difficult, however, to look at other developments in the absence of a Government decision on the future of the two banks, he said.
"The Government can't agree, it can't seem to make up its mind. We'll probably not have it resolved this side of an election," he told the meeting. Irrespective of the outcome, he said, the Irish Nationwide intended to continue to compete strongly.
The society had expressed an interest in the TSB because it "came on the market", he said. Like all the Irish financial institutions, the Irish Nationwide was looking for opportunities but nothing suitable was currently available.
"There is great movement in boardrooms these days, but not in ours. We have no acquisition plans, but we are very alert to what is happening," said Mr Fingleton.
The society would continue to be run in a "conservative" and "expansive" manner for the benefit of its members, he said.
Irish Nationwide's chairman, Mr Peter O'Connor, told members the society's financial achievements over the past 10 years had been "outstanding". This, he added "didn't happen by chance" and was largely due to the efforts of Mr Fingleton and its board.
The society was in "good and capable hands and will make continued progress in the years to come", Mr O'Connor said.
Responding to queries from one member, Mr Fingleton confirmed that he and Mr Stan Purcell shared a total pay package of £679,000 from the society last year.
Its annual accounts show the two top executives shared fees of £357,000 while the Irish Nationwide also paid pension contributions of £322,000 for the two top executives, as part of their remuneration.
Mr Fingleton refused to disclose their individual pay packages to the meeting, saying that the society was not required to break down individual payments to its directors.
"Financial institutions can't be run like charities," he said. Their contracts were "performance related", according to Mr Fingleton. "Not only do we have to equal our competitors, but we have to get ahead of them."
The substantial pension contributions in 1995 were because in earlier years "we forgot about our own pensions", he said. These payments now had to be made in a shorter period of time.
