Increasing accountability in Irish banking will help drive cultural change and rebuild trust – McDonagh

Thursday, 25 October – Bank of Ireland Group CEO Francesca McDonagh today participated at a Central Bank of Ireland event in Trinity College entitled ‘Culture, Diversity and the Way Forward for Corporate Governance in Ireland’.

At the event Ms McDonagh will set out her view that increasing accountability in the Irish banking sector will help to drive cultural change and rebuild trust with customers and wider society. An intensive programme to support cultural transformation, including creating a more inclusive and diverse organisation, is well underway at Bank of Ireland. This is centred on the Group’s purpose – to enable our customers, colleagues and communities to thrive – and values: to be Customer Focused, Accountable, Agile, and work as One Group One Team.

Francesca McDonagh commented:

“We can’t shy away from the mistakes of the past but we must learn from them so that we can transform the culture in Irish banking. Bank of Ireland wants to play a leadership role in this task, and help to develop best practice cultural improvement for our sector.

“There is nothing ‘soft’ about improving corporate culture. Culture makes a tangible positive difference for customers, colleagues and sustainable financial performance. Developing the right internal culture creates far better outcomes for all of our stakeholders – driving better customer outcomes, creating a more engaging work environment for colleagues, and making a more valuable contribution to the communities we serve.

“Of course, culture doesn’t change overnight. You have to invest in it, work hard at it, and really show your colleagues and your customers that you take it seriously.

“Increasing accountability in the Irish banking sector will help drive the cultural change underway and support rebuilding trust with our customers and the wider public – a critical process as banks are amongst the least trusted companies in Ireland. We welcome the proposals to increase accountability in the sector, and look forward to engaging proactively with the Central Bank as this agenda moves forward.

“At Bank of Ireland we are making progress in our cultural transformation, but we know we have a lot more to do. We’re working to make Bank of Ireland a better one for our customers, a better place to work, and an organisation that is more closely in step with the communities we live, work, and do business in. This includes setting targets for gender balance because improving inclusion and diversity in the Bank will lead to better decision making, help challenge ‘groupthink’, and ensure we really reflect our diverse customer base.”