Bank of Ireland chief executive Mike Soden says his thirst for deals remains unquenched, despite the bank's rebuff by Abbey National last week.
In an interview with the London Times, Soden ruled out a deal with Bradford & Bingley or any immediate bid for Alliance & Leicester, and said if no opportunities present themselves, then the bank will give money back to shareholders with a dividend or a share buyback.
Soden said he had no regrets about the move on Abbey which he said was 'too good an opportunity to miss'.
He says he does not fear BoI becoming a takeover target, saying 'everybody in an open market is a takeover candidate...I am not encouraging anyone'.
He said the bank was currently seeking closure with investors over the failed Abbey move. 'I do not want to create the idea that we are going out there doing deals all the time,' he said.
Soden believes that further rationalisation in the financial services sector will happen. He said Bradford & Bingley was not a natural fit for BoI, and on Alliance and Leicester - 'nothing is ever absolute for us, it is not a candidate at the moment'.
Back in March BoI first looked at the possibility of a deal with Abbey, and following Abbey's profit warning in June it became possible that a deal could be done. The BoI board supported a proposal in September based on the three conditions: it had to be a friendly deal, the head office had to be in Dublin, and Mike Soden had to be chief executive.
Commenting on the interview ABN Amro analyst Eamonn Hughes said Soden's willingness to do further UK deals would cause continued uncertainty for investors.
Shares in Bank of Ireland were up five cent to stand at €10.95 this afternoon in Dublin.
