The Bank of Ireland is searching for a new chief executive, after the
resignation of Michael Soden, who has admitted using his PC during work time to
access pornographic websites.
The group CEO’s surfing habits were discovered by accident during routine maintenance
work on his computer by IT staff.
Soden, who has been in charge of Bank of Ireland since 2002, issued a
personal statement on the company’s website announcing his resignation.
"I have taken this decision for personal reasons. This arises from access
by me on my PC to internet sites that contain content that infringed the
group’s policy on these matters," he said.
"The content accessed was not illegal but did contain links to material
of an adult nature. I now accept that accessing this material was inappropriate
and would cause embarrassment to Bank of Ireland and to the people who work
there."
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Earlier in his career, Soden worked for a number of major banks and after
taking over at Bank of Ireland had increased the company’s profitability.
The bank’s board, which said it accepted Soden’s resignation "with
regret", has announced the appointment of Brian Goggin as his successor,
with immediate effect.
