AIB chief executive David Duffy has stepped down as president of the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland and has been replaced in the role by his colleague Bernard Byrne, who heads AIB's personal, business and corporate banking.

This change at the industry lobby group follows Mr Duffy's resignation as AIB chief executive last month after accepting the same role at Clydesdale Bank in the UK. He is expected to depart AIB after its annual results are published in March.

A spokesman for the BPFI described the handover from Mr Duffy to Mr Byrne as a “seamless transition”. AIB currently has the right to hold the BPFI presidency, which is why Mr Byrne has slotted into the role.

Mr Byrne has also taken Mr Duffy’s place on the board of the Brussels-based European Banking Federation.

Mr Duffy began his two-year term as president in January 2014, succeeding John Reynolds, the then chief executive of KBC Bank Ireland. Mr Byrne will hold the role for the remainder of 2015.

Mr Duffy was originally appointed as president of the Irish Banking Federation, which later merged with the Irish Payments Services Organisation to form the BPFI.

His election as president was unusual given his status as chief executive of one of the two big banks here. The IBF tradition had been that AIB and Bank of Ireland would appoint other members of their executive team to the president's role.

At the time of his appointment, Mr Duffy said: “We are seeing the first signs of a sustainable turnaround in the economy and, during my two-year presidency, the IBF and I will work constructively with all our customers and stakeholders to advance that recovery through increased business and mortgage lending, debt reform and resolving the arrears issue for mortgage holders and SMEs.”