The Irish Nationwide will begin the process to demutualise the building society as soon as new legislation is in place, but it has cautioned that its members will have to wait for a buyer to emerge to realise a windfall.

The society's chief executive, Mr Michael Fingleton, said he expected new legislation clearing the way for the demutualisation would be adopted this summer or in October and was hoping to conclude a deal thereafter.

Mr Fingleton said the society had received a number of approaches and was still searching for a potential buyer and that it was a good time for Irish Nationwide to hoist a "For Sale" sign.

"We are doing this when there are a lot of well-capitalised banks that have nothing to do with their money," he said.

Mr Fingleton refused to disclose the society's guide price but mentioned that when Royal Bank of Scotland purchased First Active it paid a price equal to 10 times its earnings. Applying the same multiple to Irish Nationwide's after-tax profit of €96 million, the society could be worth €960 million.

The sale would trigger a cash bonanza for Irish Nationwide customers who hold qualifying deposit and mortgage accounts, with some analysts suggesting they could net €6,000-€8,000 on each account.

Mr Fingleton said a proportion of its 200,000 depositors would be entitled to a cash payment and that the society was still going through its mortgage customers to determine how many would be in line for a windfall.

Thousands of new accounts have been opened at the society in the past two years. In response to the high level of interest, Irish Nationwide has raised the minimum amount required to open a qualifying savings account to €20,000. Mortgage holders must have a minimum balance of €500 in their account to benefit. Customers must have held their account for two years from the date when the formal motion to demutualise is passed.

Mr Fingleton said its preference was to identify a "big partner" with no presence in the Republic. It has not yet appointed any advisers to handle the sale.

The society reported a strong performance in 2003, with its loan book up 20 per cent to €4.3 billion. Mr Fingleton said that commercial lending accounted for about 50 per cent of its loan book. Irish Nationwide's balance sheet was boosted by a revaluation of its properties, which added €74 million to the value of its assets.

Yesterday, Mr Fingleton broke with a long tradition to host a press conference to take questions about the society's results. He explained that it would provide an opportunity for the media to see him when he was not "under siege" - a reference to the society's bitter and lengthy annual general meetings.

He said he also wanted to challenge the many "misunderstandings" about the society, which has attracted much negative publicity for its treatment of customers and its refusal to provide information about its financial performance.

Some shareholders have called for Mr Fingleton, who has been with the society for more than 30 years, to relinquish his role. Yesterday he firmly rebuffed the suggestion, saying he was determined to see through the demutualisation process.