Corporate financier Peter Crowley plans to leave IBI, the Bank of Ireland subsidiary he has led for the last seven years.

His colleague, IBI Corporate Finance director, Roisín Brennan, will take over the job when he leaves in September.

Mr Crowley has been chief executive of IBI since 1999. He said yesterday that he has decided to leave to pursue new opportunities.

It is understood that he has not decided on the exact nature of the next post that he will take on.

He was in the news late last year during the controversy over Irish Continental Group's decision to contract out part of its workforce, and offer Irish employees voluntary redundancy.

Mr Crowley is a non-executive director of the shipping group and a member of its remuneration committee.

The group paid him €40,000 in 2004 and it was reported that the Bank of Ireland put pressure on Mr Crowley to give up his seat on the ICG board.

He is also on the board of mobile technology group, Sigma Wireless, and the Dublin Theatre Festival.

Mr Crowley worked for IBI for three years between 1993 and 1996 before leaving to work with Sigma. He returned to take the chief executive's post in 1999.

Ms Brennan is a chartered accountant and has worked with IBI since 1990 and has been a director for the last 11 years.

She said yesterday that she was confident that the company would continue to grow its position as the country's leading corporate finance adviser.

Denis Donovan, chief executive, of Bank of Ireland's wholesale financial services, said she would bring continuity and experience to the role.

He added that Mr Crowley would leave IBI in a very strong position.