Irish Nationwide ex boss Michael Fingleton has finally expressed some remorse over the banking crisis which plunged the country into a recession.

When questioned about what had happened to the country as a result of events in Irish Nationwide and other financial institutions, Fingleton admitted that he had a sense of remorse over the issues. "Of course I have, of course I have, like anybody else, I have indeed," he said.

The former Irish Nationwide Chief Executive arrived home from Spain yesterday and spoke with an RTE reporter at Dublin airport saying “everything is being done that possibly can be done by everybody concerned”. These were his first public comments since the banking crisis erupted two years ago. 

Fingleton joined Irish Nationwide in the early seventies. He resigned in April 2009 after it emerged that he received an excessive bonus in the midst of the banking crisis. Weeks after the Irish governments recapitalization of banks such as Irish Nationwide it emerged that the bank boss had accepted a €1m bonus. Despite public outrage and political pressure he has yet to make efforts to return the money.