Former Esat Telecom chief operating officer Ms Lucy Gaffney has been appointed to the board of directors of First Active.

The appointment of Ms Gaffney follows a tough period for the bank which has undergone sweeping management changes and rationalisation of its branch network.

Until recently Ms Gaffney had been a main board director of Esat as well as a chief operating officer of the company. Prior to that she was managing director of Esat Clear, Esat's residential division.