Culture issues to blame for customer ripoffs: bank boss
ANZ’s boss has issued an unreserved apology for widespread abuses, including the botched sale of billions of dollars in bonds and the ripping off of customers.
Chief executive Nuno Matos said the failures that led to the bank being fined $240 million were the result of a lack of self-awareness and a “good news culture”.
“The bank has fallen short of what was expected of us and for that I offer an unreserved apology,” he told a parliamentary inquiry into the big four banks on Wednesday.
The corporate regulator has penalized ANZ with the record fine for a series of breaches including inaccurate reporting of bond trading data while managing a major government deal that potentially cost the state $26 million.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) also accused the bank of failing to respond to customer distress reports, misrepresenting savings interest rates and failing to refund fees charged to deceased customers.
The company argued the government had lost nothing in the bond sale and said ANZ had not been accused of market manipulation or excessive hedging despite breaching some licensing obligations.
Although the fine was the highest in ASIC’s history, committee chairman Ed Husic said the bank had gotten off lightly.
“It should have been higher,” the Labor MP told AAP.
ANZ also announced it would reduce its workforce by 8 per cent in its corporate and retail divisions in 2025.
Mr Matos, who only joined the bank in May, said cultural change was needed to prevent this saga from happening again.
“We need to be more determined and make decisions today, not postpone them until tomorrow,” he said.
“We need to be more aware of the things we are not doing well.
“We have to be timely and accountable.”
National Australia Bank chief executive Andrew Irvine will also appear before the committee after Commonwealth and Westpac bosses were grilled.
Surcharges on card payments and the government’s five per cent deposit home loan scheme were on the agenda in Canberra on Tuesday.
The inquiry heard the Central Bank is reviewing the country’s payment system and recommending the removal of surcharges on eftpos, Mastercard and Visa cards, which would save consumers more than $1 billion a year.
Commonwealth Bank chief executive Matt Comyn said he supported the proposal “in substance” but urged the RBA not to be too hasty with the changes.
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