‘Even good girls can get into trouble’ comment by Bank of Ireland boss ‘offensive on so many levels’

‘Richie Boucher may well be right to refer to the banking crisis as a wild party for himself and his senior banking buddies but it’s the elderly, the disabled and struggling homeowners who were left to pick up the tab’

BANKER Richie Boucher’s comment to an IBEC CEO conference in Dublin on Wednesday that “At a wild party, even good girls can get into trouble” to excuse banks’ behaviour has been described by MEP candidate Lynn Boylan as “offensive on so many levels”.

Speaking from Brussels, the Sinn Féin European Parliament candidate for Dublin lashed the “macho culture” of bank bosses reflected by the Bank of Ireland chief's comment and said:

“It’s no surprise that under Richie Boucher’s watch the Bank of Ireland does not have a single female executive member on its board.

“Richie Boucher may well be right to refer to the banking crisis as a wild party for himself and his senior banking buddies but it’s the elderly, the disabled and struggling homeowners who were left to pick up the tab.

“It is absolutely astounding that any senior executive would believe it is okay to get up in front of his peers and use such a base analogy in 2014.”