Former Irish Nationwide chief Michael Fingleton dies at 88
Michael Fingleton, the former head of the Irish Nationwide Building Society, has died at age 88. Fingleton was a prominent figure in the Irish financial sector who oversaw the lender's expansion before its collapse during the 2008 financial crisis.
Why it matters
Fingleton's career is a central case study in the Irish banking collapse, illustrating the risks of aggressive lending practices and the subsequent cost to taxpayers.
Michael Fingleton , the former managing director of the now-defunct Irish Nationwide Building Society , has died. He was 88.
A spokesman for Fingleton, who had been incapacitated in recent years by a stroke, confirmed he had died on Sunday.
Fingleton led Irish Nationwide between 1971 and 2009, turning a sleepy building society into one of the State’s main lenders to boomtime property developers, with a peak asset base of €16 billion – before collapsing during the financial crash at a cost to taxpayers of €5.4 billion.
Born in Tubbercurry, Co Sligo, the son of a Garda was sent at the age of 13 to boarding school at St Nathy’s College in Ballaghadereen, Co Roscommon, before following the path of many smart men of his generation by entering the All Hallow seminary in Dublin. He left before taking his vows.
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