Joe Plumeri is a regular visitor to Ireland. The chairman and chief executive of Willis Group Holding has made four trips here in six months as the global broker puts its €70 million acquisition of Coyle Hamilton to bed.

Last Monday he was in town for the party to celebrate the consummation of the deal following its clearance by the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority. But his trip was overshadowed by the ongoing controversy about the commissions paid to Willis and other insurance brokers by big insurance companies for placing large volumes of business with them.

The issue surfaced last month on foot of an investigation into the world's largest broker, Marsh McLennan, by Eliot Spitzer, the New York Attorney General. Mr Spitzer accused Marsh of rigging bids and other fraudulent activities in order to earn these lucrative commissions.

Marsh quickly suspended the practice pending the outcome of the investigation, but Mr Plumeri went one better and abolished it at Willis.

It was a far from straightforward decision because of the implicit admission that the practice was wrong, which in turn begs the question why it was going on in the first place.

"It doesn't matter whether or not they [ contingent commissions] are right or wrong. There was a perception by our clients of a conflict," Mr Plumeri said.

Whether or not the conflict existed is immaterial, he believes. But, for the record, he does not think it was an issue at Willis. He pointed out that, last year, Willis placed $3.5 billion (€2.7 billion) with one insurance company alone for which it received $2 million in contingent commissions.

"It is hardly any incentive to place business with that company. We placed business with that company because they were the best place for us to put our clients business.

"But there was a perception that if you put business where you are getting paid on a volume basis, it's not in people's best interest. Lots of times, businesses make decisions based on what clients feel and what the perception is rather than what the reality is. Instead of engaging in that argument, I got rid of them," he said.

The cost, roughly 4 per cent of the groups $2.2 billion in revenues, was not insignificant.

"I did not make the decision in a vacuum. Clients actually told me that was what they wanted me to do. We are going to be in business for a long time and people feel comfortable about doing business with people who have integrity," Mr Plumeri said.

But the decision was about more than just pragmatism, or fear of becoming the next target of the gung-ho Mr Spitzer, who critics argue is more interested in furthering his political ambitions than cleaning up Wall Street.

"Lots of people get religion in battle. But there is a lot of background to what Willis did. What I did by abolishing contingents is very consistent with what I have done since becoming chairman of this company," he said.

An archetypical Italian American, down to his patent leather shoes, Mr Plumeri took over at Willis in October 2000, two years after the blue-chip British broker had been taken private by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR). He joined from Citigroup, where he had spent 32 years in a variety of roles - starting out as a trainee broker under the legendary Sandy Weill and rising through the company, along with his mentor, to become head of the group's North American retail banking and investment services operations.

In July 2001, Willis was re-listed on the New York Stock Exchange at $13.5 a share, representing a considerable premium on the $3 per share paid by KKR.

Months later, the world was rocked by the events of September 11th. For the insurance industry, the fallout was particularly traumatic, but many saw the opportunity to profit from the disaster. Premiums were at record highs and several insurance brokers set up Bermuda-based insurance companies to take advantage of it.

"Aeon [ one of Willis's biggest rivals] created a company called Endurance, which was funded by members of its board of directors. They then floated it and the internal board made a lot of money," Mr Plumeri said.

Marsh had a limited partnership called Trident, which funded Bermuda insurer Access.

"I did not do that. People said to me we will give you hundreds of millions of dollars and you can create something in Bermuda. I said I am not going to do that because I think that is a conflict.

"I was vilified. People thought I was crazy. They thought I cost the company a lot of money in profits that could have been earned, but I stuck to my guns... Well, we didn't do it and you know the rest of the story.

"And personally, not only did I think it was a conflict, I did not think that I should personally gain from the tragedy that took place on 9/11," he said.

As further evidence of Willis's strong prudential ethos, Mr Plumeri cites the system of compliance called the Willis Excellence Model, which was introduced in 2001 and audits the placement of business with underwriters.

"This [ abolishing contingent commissions] was not Willis or Joe Plumeri parachuting in when it seemed a good time to go to church. I did all this long before anybody knew who Eliot Spitzer was. I've been doing it for three years," said Mr Plumeri.

When the conversation finally gets around to the company's latest acquisition, Mr Plumeri is fulsome in his praise.

"I love Ireland. The people are great. The commercialism is great. I thought that we should have a bigger presence."

So is Coyle Hamilton, founded in 1903 and a pillar of the business establishment, set for the sort of shake-up that took place at Willis Corroon in 1998?

"There is nothing wrong with this company. This company is in great shape. If it had six things to offer people, it now has 26 things to offer people. It has access to all the things that Willis has access to," he explains.

Under Mr Hugh Governey, the senior management - who are the beneficiaries of the deal - will continue to run the business, which had a turnover of €51 million and profits of €5.4 million in 2003.

Tradition is a good thing, believes Mr Plumeri, but only in moderation. "If you live by tradition what is going to happen is you are going to sit around and keep telling stories about days gone by. But if you take the foundation of what the company represents and build on it, it becomes a great thing."