Richie Boucher
Encyclopedia
Richie Boucher, aged 51 is the current Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Bank of Ireland
, Ireland
's largest bank. He took over from Brian Goggin
on 25 February 2009 who resigned following the injection of Irish Government funds and the guarantee of deposits.
where he had been Regional Managing Director - Corporate Banking, London and South East England and previously held a number of prominent roles with the Ulster Bank
Group and also worked in ICC Bank.
Born in Northern Rhodesia Zambia
, he was primarily educated at Saint George's College,a boarding school in Rhodesia Zimbabwe
, for his last year in Rockwell College
, Co Tipperary
, and Trinity College Dublin, where he graduated with a degree in business before pursuing a career in banking. He has never lost his distinctive Rhodesian/Southern African accent though he did spend his first seventeen years in Africa.
in Ireland," and the Central Bank here has stricter rules for how much ready cash banks must hold than any other country where the group does business.
“We do not believe that we have capital problems. The issues that we face are more down to liquidity rather than capital,” and added there were no arrears on his bank’s portfolio of 100% mortgages.
In January 2011, he admitted that information supplied to the Dáil on bank staff bonuses was both misleading and incorrect. Boucher accepted that Bank of Ireland was responsible for Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan
putting ‘‘erroneous information’’ on the Dáil record to the effect that no performance-related bonuses were paid to staff. The next month a top civil servant accused Boucher of "hiding behind" words and misleading the government during a blazing row over the bonuses.
on RTÉ, Dunne recalled the days immediately after he agreed to purchase the Jury's site for €275m, which he planned to turn into the Knightsbridge
of Ireland (a reference to the leading retail property in London). He said he was holidaying in Thailand with his wife and his young son in late July 2005 with just seven days to secure financing before signing the purchase contract for Ballsbridge. "I phoned up a very good friend of mine, Richie Boucher. He's now deputy head of Bank of Ireland," Dunne remembered. "And, after about Wednesday, Richie said, 'Seán,' he said, 'if I was trying to borrow the money you're trying to borrow, I wouldn't stay in Thailand. I'd come back to Dublin.' So I thought that was good advice, even though I wanted to stay in Thailand with my wife and son." Though others at the time suggested that his real advice to Dunne was to " get out of the deal", this has a ring of truth given that Bank Of Ireland didn't even consider funding Dunne in the deal, it was Ulster Bank. Bank of Ireland are conspicuous in that rarely were they the lead banker to any of the major developers, if on the "ticket" at all they ranked 4th or 5th.
On 3 October 2007, the planning department in Dublin City Council received a letter from Boucher, giving his address as the office of chief executive of Bank of Ireland Group's retail financial services at head office in Lower Baggot Street. it was headed "Jurys/Berkeley Court Site". He wrote: "Dear Sir, I refer to the above and write to confirm my strong support for this landmark proposal which I believe will significantly benefit the city of Dublin and its citizens through helping enhance the concept of a living city and providing buildings of significant architectural merit befitting Ireland of the 21st century. Yours faithfully, Richie Boucher, chief executive, Retail Financial Services Ireland."
trading floor. A former colleague said of him that, "he is one of the most aggressive guys and ruthless in the bank. He would be the epitome of the Anglo Irish Bank
way of doing things, not Bank of Ireland. This was probably true in the lending to businesses, however, in the lending to developers it was clear that he was well behind the largesse of Anglo Irish Bank, Irish Nationwide, Allied Irish Bank, Ulster Bank and Bank Of Scotland otherwise Bank Of Ireland would almost certainly be in Government ownership like all the others. One of his senior colleagues at BoI said that he commands loyalty from the management team, and that ‘‘you can’t sit on the fence with him. That is not the normal Bank of Ireland style going back many years, but that is Richie. He’s very focused on achieving goals - if someone tells him they will have five things done in a month’s time he expects that to happen.‘‘He’s seen as a decisive, no-bullshit kind of manager. He can be seen as gruff, and that is not helped by his accent. But he will always push for action and for a decision.”
A banking analyst who has dealt with Boucher, and has observed BoI’s changing fortunes over the past couple of years, said Boucher has ‘‘a very strong personality. In that way he would be a very different fish to his predecessor Brian Goggin. But he’s a very personable guy outside work. Prem Watsa, chief executive of Fairfax, told Reuters the BoI boss was ‘‘very disciplined, focused, very commercial". Bank of Ireland chairman Pat Molly, has social skills that the taciturn Boucher lacks. He admits himself that he is not especially " clubbable" but it is known that his wide circle of friends and close family are fiercely loyal and speak of discrete kindness and generosity.
Mr Boucher came up against Des Crowley, the head of Bank of Ireland's UK business for the CEO's job. He was the board's unanimous choice to be Chief Executive and for his "expertise, determination and pragmatism after an exhaustive process in Ireland and internationally, involving internal and external candidates.”
Accepting the appointment, Mr Boucher said he was "very conscious of the current state of the financial services industry, the low opinion which the general public has of banks and the very difficult economic conditions that we face". He said he fully accepted "that we have an uphill battle as we work towards restoring the trust and confidence of our customers, stockholders and the general public. It is my commitment that I will work relentlessly with my colleagues in Bank of Ireland to win this confidence".
, the billionaire
businessman, who was a substantial shareholder in the bank, wrote to all members of the board expressing his "dismay" at Mr Boucher appointment.He said Mr Boucher was one of the most senior bankers in the organisation, as a director, chief executive of retail financial services, a member of the group risk policy committee and of the group investment committee.“There has to be a direct correlation between Mr Boucher’s appointment to these senior positions and the excess lending policies of the bank.“How did Mr Boucher and others within the bank view the warnings of the Central Bank of Ireland in 2004 concerning the overheated residential property market?” Mr Desmond said the appointment of Mr Boucher sent out “completely and utterly the wrong message. People who invested their pensions and savings in Bank of Ireland shares have been put under extreme financial pressure through absolutely no fault of their own. People are quite rightly angry.“Credibility and confidence need to be restored. This will not be achieved by promoting existing management further up the chain.“A clean break is needed. The people who got the bank into the mess are not the people to get the bank out of the mess.”Mr Desmond said the bank’s directors were obviously seriously out of touch with market perception and the sentiments of shareholders, accountholders and the market generally if they thought otherwise. “Therefore [he] must have been responsible for fatal errors of judgment, including advancing loans to developers on the strength of overstated land values and insufficient security.He said he had nothing personal against Mr Boucher but perception was important if public confidence and the external reputation of the Irish banking system were to be restored".
Former Bank of Ireland Chief Executive and current member of the Central Bank Commission, Michael Soden, insisted that banks bosses associated with the crisis in Allied Irish Banks
and Bank of Ireland should leave. "Anybody who overseas the destruction of 99 per cent of the value of the two great banks in Ireland and says 'We're not accountable, we're not responsible'-get off the bus right now."
The Labour party said the decision of the to appoint an internal candidate as chief executive is "most disappointing". "I am not in any way casting any aspersions on Mr Boucher's ability or integrity, but this is a missed opportunity to signal a new beginning in Irish banking," said spokeswoman on Finance, Joan Burton
.
Senator Shane Ross
raised the appointment in the Senate and—while later admitting hyperbole—said "possibly the most disgraceful appointment in the business world in living memory."
He is married to Sandra Boucher, has two children, Katie and Keith and lives in Clontarf
. A rugby
fan, he trains a children's rugby team.
His basic salary is €690,000 (The Irish Government put a €500,000 salary cap on chief executives of state-guaranteed banks). Additionally he has an annual car cash allowance of €34,000, and receives free tax advice "in accordance with executive levels". Other benefits include health insurance and loans at preferential rates and has waived his entitlement to club membership fees.
A letter from Chairman Pat Molloy to Boucher in the spring of 2010 reveals that executive bonuses will probably be back in 2011. Boucher will be entitled to a pension of two-thirds of his €690,000 salary when he reaches 60. His dependant is entitled to 100 per cent of this amount whether Boucher dies in service or afterwards. The employment contract includes a permanent gagging clause.
As at 31 December 2009 he had €946,000 in loans from the Bank of Ireland ,with €708,000 described as "other loans" and €235,000 in mortgage loans.
In April 2010, following contact between the Taoiseach
's department and the bank he waived his option to retire on pension at 55 and thus removed the need to top up his pension by €1.5m.
Bank of Ireland
The Bank of Ireland is a commercial bank operation in Ireland, which is one of the 'Big Four' in both parts of the island.Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, the Bank occupies a unique position in Irish banking history...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
's largest bank. He took over from Brian Goggin
Brian Goggin
Brian Goggin is the former Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Ireland, Ireland's second largest bank. He took over from Michael Soden in June 2004....
on 25 February 2009 who resigned following the injection of Irish Government funds and the guarantee of deposits.
Career and Education
Richie Boucher was Chief Executive of Bank of Ireland's Irish Retail Division since January 2006 where he oversaw the company's land bank and development loans grew to €7.1 billion. He was appointed as a Director of the Group in October 2006. He joined Bank of Ireland in December 2003 as Chief Executive, Corporate Banking from the Royal Bank of ScotlandRoyal Bank of Scotland
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is a British banking and insurance holding company in which the UK Government holds an 84% stake. This stake is held and managed through UK Financial Investments Limited, whose voting rights are limited to 75% in order for the bank to retain its listing on the...
where he had been Regional Managing Director - Corporate Banking, London and South East England and previously held a number of prominent roles with the Ulster Bank
Ulster Bank
Ulster Bank is a large commercial bank, one of the Big Four in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The Ulster Bank Group is subdivided into two separate legal entities, Ulster Bank Limited and Ulster Bank Ireland Limited...
Group and also worked in ICC Bank.
Born in Northern Rhodesia Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
, he was primarily educated at Saint George's College,a boarding school in Rhodesia Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, for his last year in Rockwell College
Rockwell College
Rockwell College, founded in 1864, is a private Catholic secondary school near Cashel, South Tipperary in Ireland. It offers day as well as full boarding. Rockwell is run by the Holy Ghost Fathers.-Politics:...
, Co Tipperary
Tipperary
Tipperary is a town and a civil parish in South Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 4,415 at the 2006 census. It is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, and is in the historical barony of Clanwilliam....
, and Trinity College Dublin, where he graduated with a degree in business before pursuing a career in banking. He has never lost his distinctive Rhodesian/Southern African accent though he did spend his first seventeen years in Africa.
Evidence to Oireachtas
On 2 July 2008 he told the Oireachtas Finance Committee "unequivocally, we do not think there is a Northern RockNorthern Rock
Northern Rock plc is a British bank, best known for becoming the first bank in 150 years to suffer a bank run after having had to approach the Bank of England for a loan facility, to replace money market funding, during the credit crisis in 2007. Having failed to find a commercial buyer for...
in Ireland," and the Central Bank here has stricter rules for how much ready cash banks must hold than any other country where the group does business.
“We do not believe that we have capital problems. The issues that we face are more down to liquidity rather than capital,” and added there were no arrears on his bank’s portfolio of 100% mortgages.
In January 2011, he admitted that information supplied to the Dáil on bank staff bonuses was both misleading and incorrect. Boucher accepted that Bank of Ireland was responsible for Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan
Brian Lenihan
Brian Patrick Lenihan was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician, who served in a range of cabinet positions, most notably as Tánaiste , Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Justice....
putting ‘‘erroneous information’’ on the Dáil record to the effect that no performance-related bonuses were paid to staff. The next month a top civil servant accused Boucher of "hiding behind" words and misleading the government during a blazing row over the bonuses.
Relationship with Property Developers
He advised property developer Seán Dunne on his acquisition of the iconic Jury's hotel site in Ballsbridge.Speaking to Marian FinucaneMarian Finucane
Marian Finucane is an Irish broadcaster with Raidió Teilifís Éireann . She has worked with the national broadcaster since in 1976, starting as a continuity announcer. She was the first presenter of Liveline...
on RTÉ, Dunne recalled the days immediately after he agreed to purchase the Jury's site for €275m, which he planned to turn into the Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge is a road which gives its name to an exclusive district lying to the west of central London. The road runs along the south side of Hyde Park, west from Hyde Park Corner, spanning the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
of Ireland (a reference to the leading retail property in London). He said he was holidaying in Thailand with his wife and his young son in late July 2005 with just seven days to secure financing before signing the purchase contract for Ballsbridge. "I phoned up a very good friend of mine, Richie Boucher. He's now deputy head of Bank of Ireland," Dunne remembered. "And, after about Wednesday, Richie said, 'Seán,' he said, 'if I was trying to borrow the money you're trying to borrow, I wouldn't stay in Thailand. I'd come back to Dublin.' So I thought that was good advice, even though I wanted to stay in Thailand with my wife and son." Though others at the time suggested that his real advice to Dunne was to " get out of the deal", this has a ring of truth given that Bank Of Ireland didn't even consider funding Dunne in the deal, it was Ulster Bank. Bank of Ireland are conspicuous in that rarely were they the lead banker to any of the major developers, if on the "ticket" at all they ranked 4th or 5th.
On 3 October 2007, the planning department in Dublin City Council received a letter from Boucher, giving his address as the office of chief executive of Bank of Ireland Group's retail financial services at head office in Lower Baggot Street. it was headed "Jurys/Berkeley Court Site". He wrote: "Dear Sir, I refer to the above and write to confirm my strong support for this landmark proposal which I believe will significantly benefit the city of Dublin and its citizens through helping enhance the concept of a living city and providing buildings of significant architectural merit befitting Ireland of the 21st century. Yours faithfully, Richie Boucher, chief executive, Retail Financial Services Ireland."
Personality and appointment as Chief Executive
He is generally regarded as having a ruthless streak and is "direct and feisty". Long meetings are not to his taste, but he does prefer to deal with people face to face. Stocky and greying, Boucher is no gentlemen banker and looks like a man who would flourish in the bear pit of a Wall StreetWall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
trading floor. A former colleague said of him that, "he is one of the most aggressive guys and ruthless in the bank. He would be the epitome of the Anglo Irish Bank
Anglo Irish Bank
Anglo Irish Bank was a bank based in Ireland with its headquarters in Dublin from 1964 to 2011. It went into wind-down mode after nationalisation in 2009....
way of doing things, not Bank of Ireland. This was probably true in the lending to businesses, however, in the lending to developers it was clear that he was well behind the largesse of Anglo Irish Bank, Irish Nationwide, Allied Irish Bank, Ulster Bank and Bank Of Scotland otherwise Bank Of Ireland would almost certainly be in Government ownership like all the others. One of his senior colleagues at BoI said that he commands loyalty from the management team, and that ‘‘you can’t sit on the fence with him. That is not the normal Bank of Ireland style going back many years, but that is Richie. He’s very focused on achieving goals - if someone tells him they will have five things done in a month’s time he expects that to happen.‘‘He’s seen as a decisive, no-bullshit kind of manager. He can be seen as gruff, and that is not helped by his accent. But he will always push for action and for a decision.”
A banking analyst who has dealt with Boucher, and has observed BoI’s changing fortunes over the past couple of years, said Boucher has ‘‘a very strong personality. In that way he would be a very different fish to his predecessor Brian Goggin. But he’s a very personable guy outside work. Prem Watsa, chief executive of Fairfax, told Reuters the BoI boss was ‘‘very disciplined, focused, very commercial". Bank of Ireland chairman Pat Molly, has social skills that the taciturn Boucher lacks. He admits himself that he is not especially " clubbable" but it is known that his wide circle of friends and close family are fiercely loyal and speak of discrete kindness and generosity.
Mr Boucher came up against Des Crowley, the head of Bank of Ireland's UK business for the CEO's job. He was the board's unanimous choice to be Chief Executive and for his "expertise, determination and pragmatism after an exhaustive process in Ireland and internationally, involving internal and external candidates.”
Accepting the appointment, Mr Boucher said he was "very conscious of the current state of the financial services industry, the low opinion which the general public has of banks and the very difficult economic conditions that we face". He said he fully accepted "that we have an uphill battle as we work towards restoring the trust and confidence of our customers, stockholders and the general public. It is my commitment that I will work relentlessly with my colleagues in Bank of Ireland to win this confidence".
Reactions to appointment
Mr Dermot DesmondDermot Desmond
Dermot Desmond is an Irish businessman and financier. He is estimated to be worth €1.45billion and is ranked by the Sunday Independent as the sixth-richest person in Ireland.-Background and education:...
, the billionaire
Billionaire
A billionaire, in countries that use the short scale number naming system, is a person who has a net worth of at least one billion units of a given currency, usually the United States dollar, Euro, or Pound sterling. Forbes magazine updates a complete list of U.S. dollar billionaires around the...
businessman, who was a substantial shareholder in the bank, wrote to all members of the board expressing his "dismay" at Mr Boucher appointment.He said Mr Boucher was one of the most senior bankers in the organisation, as a director, chief executive of retail financial services, a member of the group risk policy committee and of the group investment committee.“There has to be a direct correlation between Mr Boucher’s appointment to these senior positions and the excess lending policies of the bank.“How did Mr Boucher and others within the bank view the warnings of the Central Bank of Ireland in 2004 concerning the overheated residential property market?” Mr Desmond said the appointment of Mr Boucher sent out “completely and utterly the wrong message. People who invested their pensions and savings in Bank of Ireland shares have been put under extreme financial pressure through absolutely no fault of their own. People are quite rightly angry.“Credibility and confidence need to be restored. This will not be achieved by promoting existing management further up the chain.“A clean break is needed. The people who got the bank into the mess are not the people to get the bank out of the mess.”Mr Desmond said the bank’s directors were obviously seriously out of touch with market perception and the sentiments of shareholders, accountholders and the market generally if they thought otherwise. “Therefore [he] must have been responsible for fatal errors of judgment, including advancing loans to developers on the strength of overstated land values and insufficient security.He said he had nothing personal against Mr Boucher but perception was important if public confidence and the external reputation of the Irish banking system were to be restored".
Former Bank of Ireland Chief Executive and current member of the Central Bank Commission, Michael Soden, insisted that banks bosses associated with the crisis in Allied Irish Banks
Allied Irish Banks
Allied Irish Banks p.l.c. is a major commercial bank based in Ireland.AIB is one of the so called "big four" commercial banks in the state. The bank has one of the largest branch networks in Ireland; only Bank of Ireland fully rivals it. AIB offers a full range of personal and corporate banking...
and Bank of Ireland should leave. "Anybody who overseas the destruction of 99 per cent of the value of the two great banks in Ireland and says 'We're not accountable, we're not responsible'-get off the bus right now."
The Labour party said the decision of the to appoint an internal candidate as chief executive is "most disappointing". "I am not in any way casting any aspersions on Mr Boucher's ability or integrity, but this is a missed opportunity to signal a new beginning in Irish banking," said spokeswoman on Finance, Joan Burton
Joan Burton
Joan Burton is an Irish Labour Party politician and the current Minister for Social Protection. She is a Teachta Dála for the Dublin West constituency....
.
Senator Shane Ross
Shane Ross
Shane Peter Nathaniel Ross is an independent Irish politician and Business Editor of the Sunday Independent. He was the longest-serving member of Seanad Éireann , until he was elected to Dáil Éireann for the constituency of Dublin South at the 2011 general election.-Early life and career:Born in...
raised the appointment in the Senate and—while later admitting hyperbole—said "possibly the most disgraceful appointment in the business world in living memory."
Family,hobbies and remuneration/loans from Bank of Ireland
He is married to Sandra Boucher, has two children, Katie and Keith and lives in Clontarf
Clontarf
Clontarf may refer to:Placenames:*Clontarf, Dublin, Ireland*Clontarf, New South Wales, Australia*Clontarf, Queensland, Australia*Clontarf, Minnesota, United StatesOther:*Battle of Clontarf, 1014...
. A rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
fan, he trains a children's rugby team.
His basic salary is €690,000 (The Irish Government put a €500,000 salary cap on chief executives of state-guaranteed banks). Additionally he has an annual car cash allowance of €34,000, and receives free tax advice "in accordance with executive levels". Other benefits include health insurance and loans at preferential rates and has waived his entitlement to club membership fees.
A letter from Chairman Pat Molloy to Boucher in the spring of 2010 reveals that executive bonuses will probably be back in 2011. Boucher will be entitled to a pension of two-thirds of his €690,000 salary when he reaches 60. His dependant is entitled to 100 per cent of this amount whether Boucher dies in service or afterwards. The employment contract includes a permanent gagging clause.
As at 31 December 2009 he had €946,000 in loans from the Bank of Ireland ,with €708,000 described as "other loans" and €235,000 in mortgage loans.
In April 2010, following contact between the Taoiseach
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
's department and the bank he waived his option to retire on pension at 55 and thus removed the need to top up his pension by €1.5m.