Anglo Irish Bank has named Mr David Drumm, as chief executive designate today to replace current Mr Sean FitzPatrick.
Mr Drumm, whom the market considered an outside contender for the post, will take over in January 2005 from Mr FitzPatrick, whose move to the position of non-executive chairman at the country's third-biggest commercial bank was announced earlier this year.
Mr FitzPatrick had said there were four internal candidates for the job. He declined to name them but they were thought to be chief operating officer Mr Tiarnan O'Mahoney, head of wealth management Mr Tom Browne, and Mr John Rowan, the head of Anglo's UK operations, as well as Mr Drumm.
Of the four, Mr Drumm was the only candidate not sitting on the group's board of directors. "It's a little bit of a surprise," said Mr Eamonn Hughes, analyst at Goodbody Stockbrokers in Dublin.
"It will probably create a bit of uncertainty. The jury's out until we know a bit more about him.
"I think investors will be hoping that he's not going to have any changes that he wants to implement ... they'll want more of the same," added Mr Hughes, who has an "add" recommendation on the stock. Shares in the group were flat at €15.15.
Finance director Mr William McAteer described Mr Drumm as an "outstanding" candidate who had no plans for radical direction changes at the group, which specialises in lending to small and medium-sized businesses and wealthier individuals.
"David's been with the bank since 1993. He's very much part of the strategy and believes it will be very much the same strategy going forward," he told Reuters.
Mr McAteer confirmed that people with "big jobs" inside the firm had also been in the running for the post but did not expect them to jump ship.
"I'm sure people will be thinking about their own positions but I don't think people will be leaving -- but you can't legislate for that," he said.
Anglo Irish beat market expectations in May with a 48 per cent jump in first-half profits, driven by robust lending growth, and was bullish about its prospects for the full year and beyond. The group posted record pre-tax profit of €228.6 million for the six months to the end of March, with earnings per share up 53 per cent to 51.42 cents.
The bank has long been one of the top performers in the Irish market, admired for its conservative provisioning and good cost control.