Soden 57, who is married and was appointed chief executive in March 2002 is said to have resigned immediately after admitting he used the internet to search for escort services in preparation for a trip to Las Vegas.
In his statement Soden said: “I now accept that this material was inappropriate and would cause embarrassment to Bank of Ireland and to the people who work there. I deeply regret any such embarrassment. For this reason and because I believe that leaders of organisations should be measured by the highest standards, I have made this decision.”
BOI said it accepted his resignation with regret but were unwilling to comment further.
This is an unprecedented step in the financial services industry, where a chief executive was either forced to confess his sins in public or resolved to come clean as the BOI statements suggest.
