One More Thing:EBS boss Ted McGovern might be under pressure to justify his €760,000-a-year salary and the way that some board members were chosen, but he seems to have done a clever deal last year in relation to its asset management activities, writes Ciaran Hancock.
The building society transferred the management of its Summit funds, which totals some €650 million, to Irish Life from Oppenheim.
The move took Oppenheim by surprise, as it had managed the assets since 1990, and had placed a number of its own clients in the funds, which performed well over the period.
EBS, however, struck a deal with Irish Life which saw the latter acquire the building society's asset-management arm for a "nominal fee". Of significant interest is the fact that Irish Life will pay just over 1 per cent annually of the value of the funds to EBS for a minimum of 10 years and possibly for more than 15 years.
Based on the current value of the funds, this would earn EBS a tidy €6 million annually, although the Summit funds are set to decline in size over time as SSIAs, for example, are cashed in by policy holders.
Oppenheim is understood to have offered €50 million over seven years but was trumped by Irish Life. It represents a tidy ongoing windfall for the EBS.
Members attending the society's annual general meeting on Monday might like to ask if any special dividend might make its way back to their savings accounts.
