Members of the First National Building Society have overwhelmingly approved the society's conversion to a public company. The flotation, which is due to happen this autumn, was approved by 97 per cent of the society's members.

When the votes were counted after a lively annual general meeting, the scrutineer announced that 68,734 members had voted for the proposal, with some 2,440 opposed to the change.

Subject to approval from the Central Bank, the society will change its name to First Active and begin the process of listing on the Dublin and London stock markets. More than 800 of the society's members attended yesterday's meeting in Dublin.

The chairman, Prof Michael McCormac, told members that they were the main decision makers. "I would not stand here as chairman of the society and seek your support for the resolutions before the meeting if I did not believe that they are in the interests of members of the society. I do believe it, and your board is unanimous in that view."

The conversion, he said, will allow First National to continue to grow and give it greater flexibility to pursue new opportunities in the future. It will also mean a windfall for members.

The 220,000 members with qualifying accounts will receive 450 free shares on each one. The shares are estimated to be worth around £1,170, but their value will depend on the price at which the shares begin trading in the autumn. A further 100,000 members who fail to qualify for free shares will receive a cash payment from the society, equivalent to 20 per cent of the balance on their account. FNBS's three senior executives, the managing director, Mr John Smyth, the deputy managing directory, Mr Tony Shanahan, and the operations director, Mr Paul Reville, will be granted substantial options as part of their remuneration package.

First National staff and retired employees will receive free shares on top of any they would automatically be entitled to on any loan or deposit accounts at the society.

A SIPTU representative, Mr Paul Sweeney, told the meeting that many of the society's staff are worried that the flotation could ultimately lead to job losses at the company. He also urged management to consider its request to allow staff to buy more shares at the time of flotation than currently outlined, and is seeking the appointment of a worker director to the board of the company. Mr Reville said these discussions are continuing.