DAVID Duffy, who is credited with turning round Allied Irish Bank, has been hired as the next boss of Australian-owned Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks.

Mr Duffy, 53, who has three decades of international banking experience,will take up his new post in the next few months, succeeding David Thornburn who stood down after nearly four years as Yorkshire and Clydesdale boss.

Mr Duffy (pictured) has been chief executive of Allied Irish Banks since 2011 and has held a range of key senior roles, including as chief executive of Standard Bank International with responsibility for operations in the UK, Europe, Latin America and Asia.

Andrew Thorburn, National Australia Bank group chief executive, said: “David’s leadership in the turnaround of AIB during a very challenging period for Irish banks is very impressive. For the past three years he has led the bank’s strong and sustainable profit growth, created a dynamic leadership team and gained the confidence and support of key stakeholders from staff, customers and investors to regulators, ratings agencies and governments.

“As a result of these strong capabilities, David is uniquely qualified to meet the challenges and opportunities of this important role, particularly as we are examining the broader range of options we announced in October 2014 to accelerate NAB’s exit from the UK banking business.”