The chief executive of Bank of Ireland has announced his resignation.
The surprise announcement came when Michael Soden issued a personal statement admitting that he had accessed internet sites forbidden under bank policy.
Soden said the content of the websites accessed was not illegal but did contain links to material of an adult nature.
Michael Soden has been in charge of Bank of Ireland since 2002 and once famously proposed the idea of a merger between Bank of Ireland and AIB.
Before taking over at Bank of Ireland Soden worked for a number of major international banks and during his time at Bank of Ireland increased profitability.
One of his main business legacies will be a deal with the UK post office which created a national network for Bank of Ireland in Britain.
In a statement Soden said: "This arises from access by me on my PC to internet sites that contain content that infringed the Group's policy on these matters. The content accessed was not illegal but did contain links to material of an adult nature.
"I now understand and accept that in doing this I breached the policies of the Bank of Ireland.
"I have made it a central part of my tenure as Group Chief Executive to set the highest standards of integrity and behaviour and to do so in an environment of accountability, transparency and openness.
"I now accept that accessing this material was inappropriate and would cause embarrassment to Bank of Ireland and to the people who work there. I deeply regret any such embarrassment."
