Internet bank Egg's chief executive, Ian Kerr, has resigned.

The announcement comes after controversies over the decision of the bank to withdraw around 161,000 credit cards (7% of Egg customers), which angered many affected customers and several consumer groups. Owned by Citigroup, the bank claimed that the affected customers were a poor credit risk. However, many of them insisted that they had excellent credit records and that they paid their bills every month. This led to speculations that Egg canceled these cards just because they did not make money for the bank.

The bank said that Kerr's stepping down was of his own accord and had nothing to do with the credit card cancellations.

Former Consumer Affairs Minister and Labour MP Niget Griffiths, who had been critical of the bank's decisions and actions, welcomed Kerr's resignation. “Egg presided over a PR disaster,” said Griffiths, “withdrawing cards from thousands... failing to give full and honest reasons.”

Kerr, who had run the bank since November 2006, will be replaced by Bert Pijls, the company's country manager for the Czech Republic. If you're delighted in reading this article, you'll surely be entertained in learning how to get a credit check.