BANK of Ireland's move to appoint Maurice Keane as chief executive designate will be seen by many as putting the bank's future in a safe pair of hands.

Mr Keane, aged 56, is a career banker with wide experience within the bank and acknowledged expertise in most areas of its operation. But those who know him say that while he has adopted a low public profile for most of his career. he will now want to leave his mark on an organisation where he has spent most of his working life.

Mr Keane is to take over from Pat Molloy, who is due to retire in January 1998. His appointment gives a clear signal of continuity at the bank. He might have been chief executive six years ago, but instead his friend - Pat Molloy - got the job. The two have since worked closely together - indeed they first formed a professional relationship 30 years ago - and are seen to share a similar business philosophy. As one who knows both men puts it, they are "two old buddies".

However Mr Molloy and Mr Keane have taken different career paths and have different styles. While the outgoing chief executive spent much of his career on the retail side of the business, Mr Keane comes to the role from a different background. He has extensive experience in the group's corporate treasury, credit control and corporate finance and stockbroking arms, as well as some retail banking expertise.

From Castleisland, Co Kerry, Maurice Keane joined the National Bank in 1958; National was subsequently taken over by Bank of Ireland. In the early years of his career, Mr Keane began working in bank branches initially charged with administrative responsibilities, he eventually took up a planning role at the bank's Dublin headquarters.

He quickly progressed to executive level and was appointed to the court of directors in 1983. Mr Keane has at various times headed many of the bank's subsidiaries, including corporate banking, treasury and international. He has also exercised key responsibilities in overseeing much of the group's lending in the Irish and international markets. He was appointed deputy chief executive to Mr Molloy in 1991 and in the past six years the two men have managed to successfully restore the bank's fortunes. As a result the new chief executive will take on a radically different bank from that handed to his predecessor.

Like Mr Molloy, Mr Keane is viewed as being a traditional and fairly conservative banker and his appointment is unlikely to herald any major strategic changes.

To increase its profits, the bank must continue to curb its costs. Many of the cost-cutting measures and efforts to improve efficiency introduced by the bank over the past number of years are said to carry his fingerprints, with most observers expecting that he will stick to a similar course in the future. Managing the transition to a single currency will also be a major challenge.

Although conservative in the prudent manner generally expected of bankers, Mr Keane is not afraid to support expansion of the bank's activities. In the past 5 years, he has played a key role in many of its major acquisitions, as part of the team that spearheaded Bank of Ireland's move to British and US economies. Boosting the bank's earnings from these two markets is likely to form an important part of his term in office.

He was closely involved in the acquisition of the First New Hampshire Bank in the US, and became its chairman in 1992. Last year it was merged with Citizen's Financial Group where he remains a board member. Bank of Ireland owns 23.5 per cent of the group and Mr Keane has recently stressed the bank's firm commitment to the US market.

More recently Mr Keane. "as one of the chief instigators of the bank's acquisition of Bristol & West where he is also a director. In Britain, Bank of Ireland has indicated that it will be concentrating on expanding the Bristol & West operations, both growing its core mortgage business while adding on suitable acquisitions. Ask those who have worked with him about Maurice Keane and most think for a moment and answer: "Very bright." He also has a reputation as a straight talker.

He is not the typical. hail-fellow-welI-met, golf-playing businessman and has a low-key style than Mr Molloy. Industry colleagues say he is very direct to deal with and the kind of manager "who does not always pretend he knows what is going on, but always does".

However some believe that while he has not courted the limelight. once he assumes the top position "you will see a lot more of Maurice than people expect."

Others in the industry describe his temperament as "acerbic" and have pointed to a sometimes "sardonic sense of humour".

One of his main hobbies is skiing which he does very well. And over the years he has taken a very active role in the Irish Bankers Federation.

Mr Keane is expected to steer the Bank of Ireland for just over three years. taking him up to his 60th birthday. And at the end of it he will want to be seen as more than just a safe pair of hands.