The Central Bank has confirmed that its director of credit institutions and insurance supervision Fiona Muldoon will leave the bank next year.

Ms Muldoon, who was considered the frontrunner to succeed the Central Bank's head of financial regulation and deputy governor Matthew Elderfield, will leave her position on May 1st.

“I joined the Central Bank of Ireland on my return to Ireland, at a time of great challenge for the financial services industry and for the country,” she said.

“It has been a privilege to work with so many others on the pressing economic and regulatory issues of the day.

“I hope I have made a meaningful contribution towards resolving some of those challenges and to the bank during my time here.”

Central Bank governor Patrick Honohan said Ms Muldoon had brought "great leadership strengths and practical knowledge" of the financial services industry to her role.

“She has been instrumental in many of the initiatives undertaken by the Bank to address the role of the regulator, the mortgage and SME arrears issues and the stabilisation of the banking sector,” he said.

“She has made a significant contribution to the development and implementation of our prudential regulatory strategy in the banking, insurance and credit union sectors.”