A former National Irish Bank (NIB) manager, who was found by High Court inspectors to have failed to ensure that its branches were complying with their tax obligations, is to resign from the board of a body that investigates consumer complaints against financial institutions.
Former NIB regional manager Mr Kevin Curran yesterday told the chairman of the board of the Ombudsman for Credit Institutions, Mr Paddy Leydon, that he intends to resign from the board. He had been a member for several months. The ombudsman is an independent arbitrator of disputes between financial institutions and their customers.
High Court-appointed inspectors Mr Tom Grace and Mr John Blayney found that during the 1990s, Mr Curran and two other regional managers were aware that branches under their management were not deducting the correct amount of deposit interest retention tax (DIRT) from special savings accounts.
Their report, published last week, states that Mr Curran and his colleagues had a responsibility to ensure the correct amount of DIRT was levied on accounts and that they failed to discharge this responsibility.
Mr Leydon confirmed to The Irish Times yesterday that Mr Curran had informed him of his intention to resign via Permanent TSB, which nominated him to the board several months ago. The decision to step down was taken on his own initiative, according to both the bank and the chairman.
Mr Curran works on a contract basis for the internal audit division in Permanent TSB. The bank confirmed that it had nominated him to the ombudsman's board several months ago. It also stated that it had no role in his decision to resign. He is currently on leave and could not be contacted for comment yesterday.
The Ombudsman for Credit Institutions, Mr Gerry Murphy,investigates 11,000 consumer complaints a year against banks and financial services providers. It can award consumers up to €100,000 in individual cases.
The investigations are overseen by an independent council appointed by Mr Murphy. The board, of which Mr Curran was a member, is a separate group and is responsible for managing the office. Its members are nominated by the country's financial institutions, which fund the scheme. The board has no role in investigating complaints.
Mr Curran was appointed regional manager in NIB in 1988, the beginning of the period covered by the High Court inspectors' investigation and report. He had responsibility for 22 branches and reported to NIB's head of retail, Mr Frank Brennan.
The other two regional managers named in the report are Mr Dermott Boner and Mr Tom McMenamin. Both attended a meeting in 1995 which discussed the findings of an internal DIRT audit. Mr Curran was not there, but got a copy of the minutes.
The inspectors' report attributed the bulk of the blame to more senior management at NIB. So far none have commented on its findings.
