Ireland's Central Bank has imposed a 20,000 euro fine on the former chairman of Irish Nationwide, whose collapse in the wake of the country's banking crisis in 2010 cost the Irish taxpayer 5.4 billion euros.

The Central Bank also said it had disqualified Michael Walsh, who was Irish Nationwide's non-executive chairman from 2001 to 2009, from managing a regulated financial services provider for three years as part of a settlement agreement.

Irish Nationwide, one of the main lenders at the heart of Ireland's financial crisis, was wound down together with the much larger Anglo Irish Bank as part of the country's 2010-2013 EU/IMF bailout.

The fine was levied due to Walsh's role in the lender's failure to properly manage its commercial lending and credit-risk management, the central bank said in a statement.

While Walsh took a variety of steps to remedy these failures, the issues were not fully addressed, it added.

The central bank said it is continuing its inquiry into the roles of several other former Irish Nationwide executives, including its ex-chief executive Michael Fingleton.

Ireland's taxpayers stumped up 64 billion euros - almost 40% of annual economic output - to bail out the banks, and the country was forced into a three-year bailout in 2010. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie