The chief executive officer (CEO) and board director of Irish stockbroker Davy has resigned following an investigation into a bond deal.
The board of J&E Davy said on Saturday that it had accepted the resignation of CEO Brian McKiernan, along with the resignations of Kyran McLaughlin from a non-executive director role and of Barry Nangle from an executive role as head of bonds.
Bernard Byrne, deputy CEO of Davy, has been appointed interim CEO subject to approval by the Central Bank of Ireland.
The resignations at the country’s largest stockbroking firm come after the Central Bank of Ireland fined Davy a record €4.1 million over a conflict of interest in relation to a 2014 bond deal.
The investigation arose from a transaction which a group of 16 Davy employees, including senior executives, undertook in a personal capacity with a Davy client in November 2014.
The Central Bank found the consortium of Davy employees sought to make a profit on the trading of the bonds without telling the client or the stockbroker's own compliance officers.
Deep regret
In a statement issued on Saturday, Davy reiterated that it “deeply regrets the shortcomings that emerged from the Central Bank of Ireland’s investigation and apologises unreservedly and unequivocally that these failures occurred.”
It said all those who resigned had offered to step down following the Central Bank investigation, with immediate effect.
John Corrigan, chairman of J&E Davy, said: “In accepting their resignations, I acknowledge their substantial contribution to the development of the company over many years.
“As we reflect on the Central Bank investigation our priority now is to restore trust in the integrity and robustness of our control environment and culture, and to ensure we provide our clients with the standard of service and protection that I know our people are committed to.”
Following the resignations announced today, the J&E Davy board will comprise entirely of directors who joined the board after the 2014 transaction.
