Angry Bank of Ireland shareholders - who have seen the value of their shareholding plummet 95 percent - chanted "go, go, go" at chief executive Richie Boucher Friday in Dublin.
Boucher, who was speaking at the annual shareholders meeting, was greeted by chants of "go, go, go," as he admitted that the bank had failed to respond in time to the Irish property crash.
Irish multi-millionaire Dermot Desmond, who owns 1 percent of the bank, said the bank’s board should be overhauled and that its bailout would likely not be enough.
"The market and everyone here knows that irrespective of what we decide today further restructuring will likely be required," Desmond said.
Boucher had claimed that the bank’s $3.3 billion government bailout would be “sufficient."
“We know the risks we have on our books,” Boucher told around 700 shareholders at a meeting in Dubin. “If we take the steps we are taking now in terms of capital, funding and managing risk in the balance sheet, the recovery will come.”
"Bank of Ireland has problems. However, it is a fundamentally sound business worthy of trust," Boucher said. He added, however, that a recovery for the bank could still be a long way off.
Bank of Ireland, like a number of other Irish banks, asked the Irish government for bailout money to stay afloat, as they racked up huge losses when the Irish property buddle burst. As part of the bailout, restrictions were imposed on shareholders’ dividends and executives’ pay.
Its stock fell 95 percent in the past year – which prompted its chairman, Richard Burrows, to say that the bank “apologized unreservedly” to the banks shareholders for their losses.
The bank said last month that it expects to lose almost $7 billion over the next three years.
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