On the face of it, KBC Bank Ireland – the bank founded in 1973 as Irish Intercontinental Bank (IIB) and soon taken over by Belgian group KBC – should be the kind of “digital-first”, branch-light bank that thrives in the changing financial landscape. But the legacy of the financial crisis has held it back, and it now looks as if it always had “one eye on the door”, Joe Brennan hears. He explores why the bank is searching for an Irish exit and the impact this will have on financial services in this week’s Agenda feature. Think being a non-executive company director is all about listening, nodding and sipping water during static meetings in the name of cautious oversight? Stay up to date with all our business news: sign up to our business news alerts and our Business Today daily email news digest.

Source: The Irish Times April 23, 2021 06:00 UTC