<P> Following a competitive bid process with a number of parties, IBM was selected for exclusive contract negotiations in July 2011 . During the intervening period, an extensive due diligence phase has been undertaken and relevant regulatory approval has been granted . IBM will manage the Group's entire IT infrastructure, including desktop systems, servers, mainframes, local area networks and service desk . Since then, BOI has given HCL a € 30m Business Process Outsourcing contract and has selected them as strategic local resourcing partner in Ireland . In addition to that, HCL have opened a software factory for Bank of Ireland in India and has started to outsource production support for the retail banking and payments applications in BOI . This exclusive relationship with HCL has been seen as controversial in the context of the substantial Irish taxpayer investment in Bank of Ireland--and the lack of any significant investment by HCL in Ireland . A banking analyst said in July 2011 that BOI's IT system is "very antiquated ." </P> <P> Bank of Ireland closed the accounts of Irish Palestine Solidarity campaign citing that the bank considered Palestine a high risk country . Sinn Féin TD Mary - Lou McDonald called this outrageous and an insult to the Palestinian people . </P> <P> On 5 March 2009, the shares reached € 0.12 during the day, thereby reducing the value of the company by over 99% from its 2007 high . At the 2009 AGM, shareholders criticised the performance of their Auditors, PriceWaterhouseCoopers . </P> <P> The Central Bank told the Oireachtas Enterprise Committee that shareholders who lost their money in the banking collapse are to blame for their fate and got what was coming to them for not keeping bank chiefs in check, but did admit that the Central Bank had failed to give sufficient warning about reckless lending to property developers . </P>

Governor and company of the bank of ireland