21 July 2020 - The Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe TD, has today announced the appointment of Marguerite McMahon to the Board of the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI).
Ms McMahon’s appointment takes effect immediately and will be for a five-year term.
A former senior executive with the European Investment Bank, Ms McMahon brings expertise in sustainable finance in a wide range of sectors from SMEs to large corporates, banks, Public Private Partnerships, Venture Capital, the public sector and structured finance.
Through her role as non-executive director of a number of organisations she has developed a strong interest in the ESG (environment, social and governance) sector, in innovation and in climate action, renewable energy and energy efficiency. In addition, she has spent over 20 years working in the SME sector setting strategy, developing new products, working with retail distributors and liaising with industry groups and SMEs to understand their needs.
Commenting on the appointment, Minister Donohoe said:
“I welcome the appointment of Marguerite McMahon to the Board of the SBCI. The SBCI is providing vital supports to our SMEs during the current crisis and I am sure that Marguerite McMahon, who has a wealth of experience, will be a valuable asset to the SBCI Board at this time.”
SBCI Chair Barbara Cotter said:
“I am delighted to welcome Marguerite McMahon to the Board. Her depth of experience and knowledge in the provision of promotional finance, together with her specialist expertise in financing climate action and innovation, leave her exceptionally well placed to support the delivery of the SBCI’s new five year strategy. Marguerite also brings a real understanding of the breadth of European institutions focused on supporting SMEs, which are such a valuable source of financial support to the SBCI’s activities”.
Marguerite McMahon - Biography
- Ms McMahon worked with the European Investment Bank in Rome, Madrid and Luxembourg for over 30 years.
- She held a number of roles in EIB starting as Loan Officer, Senior Loan Officer, Deputy Head of Division Lending PPPs, Public Infrastructure – Spain and culminating in 10 years as Head of Division Banks and Corporates for Italy, Malta, Croatia and Slovenia.
- She has gained extensive experience in SME Lending and large-scale public infrastructure projects.
- She led a large team to develop and implement lending strategy to large corporates targeting sustainable investment in innovation and climate action and SMEs via banks/securitisation financing EUR 50bn of new investment, creating new products for innovation, climate and agri.
- She developed and implemented solutions to mass loss of rating events following country downgrades in order to continue to support the most fragile parts of the economy in recession.
- She also was an active member for many years in various EIB risk management working groups which set policy, identified risks, created/updated register, mitigated and managed residual risks.
- Most recently in 2019, Marguerite joined SME Wholesale Finance (London) Ltd (Funding London) as a non-executive director and member of the Audit Committee. Funding London provides risk financing to SMEs of the Greater London area through a set of debt and equity funds with focus on innovation and circular economy.