Licence expected for An Post/Fortis joint venture
The Financial Regulator is expected to grant a banking licence to the new An Post/Fortis joint venture following approval for the joint venture by the European Commission.
A senior banking source predicted last night that a banking licence would be forthcoming from the Regulator for two reasons.
An Post subsidiaries One Direct and PayPoint are already in successful operation around the country, while Fortis is a leading financial institution in a number of Continental markets.
Former Aer Rianta chief executive Margaret Sweeney has been appointed chief executive of the new An Post/Fortis banking joint venture which will provide a broad range of retail banking services to the Irish market, including daily banking, savings products, insurance, credit cards and mortgages, through the Post Office network.
Application has also been made to the Irish Financial Regulator for a banking licence.
Ms Sweeney, who received a package of 800,000 on leaving Aer Rianta, is currently managing director of her own business consultancy firm which she established in 2005. Prior to that, she held senior positions in both the private and public sectors. She was chief executive and deputy chief executive of Aer Rianta from 1998, having previously operated in a number of senior management roles across the group.
Before joining Aer Rianta, Ms Sweeney had been a director and manager with KPMG in Dublin. In her career to date she has led and managed strategic and operational improvement projects in different sectors and markets, including retail and financial services. She has over 20 years’ experience in business in Ireland, the UK, Germany, Russia and the US.
Ms Sweeney is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and is currently vice-president of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce.
An Post chairperson Margaret McGinley and chief executive Donal Connell congratulated Ms Sweeney on her appointment, describing it as another important milestone in the establishment of the new Irish retail bank.
Further senior appointments are expected to be made in the next few weeks while work continues apace on the new retail bank’s IT and banking systems, product development and launch plans.
