FIRST Trust Bank head Des Moore is leaving his post to take up a new role as chief executive of the Carlisle-headquartered Cumberland Building Society.
Mr Moore, who has had a career in banking for more than 30 years, much of which has been in leadership roles across financial institutions in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, starts in April.
He's the second well-known local senior banker in just a month to make a significant career move, following the announcement that former Danske Bank chief and latterly Ulster Bank's RoI chief executive Gerry Mallon is to resign and take up a new position as head of Tesco Bank in the UK.
The Cumberland is the UK’s 10th largest building society, serving 160,000 customers throughout Cumbria, South West Scotland, North Lancashire and Northumberland via its digital channels, local call centre and network of 34 branches.
Founded in 1850 and with assets in excess of £2.2 billion, it offers personal and business banking services, a leading estate agency, car finance and Independent Financial Advice.
Mr Moore's most recently role has been as managing director of First Trust Bank, Northern Ireland’s fourth biggest bank and fifth most profitable company.
Over the last five years he and the senior team have led the transformation of First Trust from a broad based financial services provider to a focussed challenger bank concentrating on business banking, mortgage lending and personal banking.
In the last 12 months First Trust has invested £10m in developing five new business centres, the modernisation of all its branches and increasing its accessibility to customers through digital technology and the Post Office.
Cumberland chairman Trevor Hebdon said: “We are delighted to be welcoming Des as our new chief executive. Our success is the result of a clearly defined strategy, shared vision, strong culture and a deep commitment to the region. Our ‘regional mutual banking’ model remains as relevant and effective today as it ever has been.
"Des brings with him unique experience and skills from the regional banking model of Northern Ireland and we look forward to him leading the society into the next phase of its development.”
