Appearing before a House of Representatives inquiry in Canberra this morning, ANZ chief executive Shayne Elliott said that under his leadership the group takes a hardline approach towards staff that have engaged in misconduct. However, he admitted that this has not been the case of the last decade.
“Where there have been consequences, they have often involved paycuts and people leaving the bank,” he said.
“In the last year we have dismissed around 200 people across the group for misconduct. Not all of that is related to the events covered by the royal commission. Some of those were senior executives.”
Out of the 200 staff sacked by the bank, Mr Elliott said “a handful” or approximately 10 senior executives that reported directly to the CEO have been dismissed for misconduct.
Committee chair Tim Wilson MP put it to the ANZ chief executive that there is greater enforcement of frontline staff compared to executives. He asked what efforts ANZ was taking to make its senior managers more accountable.
Mr Elliott said the Banking Executive Accountability (BEAR) regime has helped the bank with a framework and is a “valuable tool”.
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