Bank of Ireland UK chief executive officer Ian McLaughlin (pictured) is stepping down from the role to take up a role at Provident Financial.
McLaughlin joined Bank of Ireland UK in 2019 as CEO and will remain in the role until later this year.
The firm said an internal and external recruitment progress was now in progress.
Before joining Bank of Ireland UK, McLaughlin worked at Royal Bank of Scotland between 2012 and 2018 in various roles.
This included managing director and managing director for specialist banking.
Prior to that, he was director of wealth management at Lloyds Baking Group for around four years, and before that was bancassurance director at Lloyds TSB for nearly three years.
He has also held senior roles at Scottish Widows and Zurich Financial Services.
Myles O’Grady, Bank of Ireland Group’s CEO, said: “I would like to thank Ian for his strong track record as CEO of Bank of Ireland UK, where he has been pivotal in the design and execution of strategy.
“Under his leadership our UK business has been significantly transformed. I would like to thank him for his commitment and dedication in his role as CEO since 2019.”
Peter Herbert, Bank of Ireland UK’s chair, said: “Ian has been instrumental in delivering a step-change in the performance of Bank of Ireland UK.
“During his time in role he has also strengthened the leadership team of the Bank. On behalf of the entire Board, I would like to wish him every success in his next role.”
McLaughlin to head up Provident Financial
McLaughlin will take on the role of CEO and executive director at Provident Financial (PFG), to be renamed Vanquis Banking Group, subject to regulatory approval, taking over from Malcolm Le May.
Le May, who has been in the role since 2018, will continue in the role until Ian joins, which PFG said would be in the summer.
PFG said that it had undergone a “transformation of the business into a specialist banking group with a focus on customers in the mid-cost and near-prime credit markets”.
PFG’s chairman Patrick Snowball, thanked Le May for his “enormous contribution” on behalf of the board as CEO, non-executive director, chairman and executive chairman.
“He has led the transformation of PFG into a specialist banking group helping mid-cost and near-prime credit customers with their financial needs, putting the Group in a strong position for the future,” he added.
Snowball continued: “I am delighted that Ian will be joining PFG as its new CEO. He and Neeraj Kapur, Group CFO, will make a great leadership team for the group, and additionally I’m pleased to say that Neeraj will be taking on some broader strategic responsibilities going forward.
“With our platform of banking products, as reflected in our new name Vanquis Banking Group, we are focused on growth, and I look forward to working with Ian as he builds on the group’s strong product, market, and capital positions, and capitalises on the opportunities that lie ahead for the benefit of customers, colleagues, and shareholders.”
Le May added that having been with the firm for around nine years, he felt the “time is right for me to step down”.
“The group has changed significantly since I joined and is now repositioned as a specialist banking group. To achieve this outcome, the group delivered a significant remediation programme, successfully defended a hostile takeover bid, put in place a scheme of arrangement, restructured, and traded successfully through the pandemic,” he noted.
He continued that giving the Group back its social purpose and reiterating its role as a responsible lender is the “outcome I’m most proud of”.
McLaughlin added: “I am delighted to be joining PFG as its new CEO. I would like to thank Malcolm and the team for the great job they have done in transforming the business, and I look forward to working with the board and the senior leadership team to take the Group’s strategy forward from here.
“We have a significant opportunity to responsibly support customers not well served by traditional lenders, and to deliver attractive and sustainable returns to our shareholders for the long term.”
