Two new senior appointments announced at Bank of Ireland Asset Management

Bank of Ireland Asset Management today (Friday, 8 December 2006) announced the appointment of Brian Routledge as a Senior Equity Portfolio Manager and Jimmy Furlong as Head of Product Development.

Brian is a senior investment professional with over 15 years' investment experience, having worked as both an Analyst and Portfolio Manager. He was previously a Senior Portfolio Manager with Citigroup Asset Management in Stamford, Connecticut. Prior to that, he spent two years as a Senior Equity Analyst with Credit Suisse First Boston, New York, and eleven years as a Senior Equity Analyst with Prudential Securities, Inc., New York. He holds a BSc (Finance) from St. John's University, New York and is a CFA Charterholder.

Jimmy Furlong joins BIAM from AIBIM where he was Head of Risk Budgeting and was responsible for new product development. He previously managed domestic and international equity and bond portfolios for AIBIM and has worked as a quantitative analyst. He is an Associate of the Society of Investment Analysts and holds a Masters Degree in Management Science. They will take up their new roles with the BIAM investment team in early 2007.

In addition, Jane Neill who is head of BIAM's balanced product has indicated that she intends to leave BIAM at the end of the year to pursue other career interests. Jane has been a member of the team since 1994 and head of the balanced product since 2004. Chris Johns, who is Managing Director Global Research and Chairman of BIAM's Asset Allocation Committee, will take responsibility for the balanced product for the foreseeable future with immediate effect.

Commenting on today's announcement, Mick Sweeney, Chief Executive of BIAM said: 'I am delighted that we continue to attract individuals of the calibre of Brian and Jimmy to our investment team, which is now 40 strong. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Jane Neill for her valuable contribution to the business over the last 12 years and I wish her every success in the future.'

Photo of Brian Routledge available on request

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Contact:

Bernadette Godley
Bank of Ireland Asset Management
Tel: 01 637 8000