Old habits die hard: Behaviour learned over many years often repeats itself, as this latest case of the ANZ board chairpersons behaviour proves:
This report [from Stuff] shows clearly that old habits die hard.
Especially when they concern past normal behaviour of John Key [Now Sir John believe or not].
Spending other peoples money is Oh so easy when you hold positions of power...of course every day Joe blogs like you and I are rarely in a position to do such favours for our business mates.
So here is the latest story of greed Vs need, by the Australian owned New Zealand Bank [NZ Branch] here in good old Kiwi land...giving its mates great deals...well until they were caught out by the banking watchdog!!! This from Stuff who now and then then reports on some really important stuff concerning the hanky-panky of millionaires rigging the books and such like.
"Employee morale is at a low ebb at ANZ NZ following the departure of the bank’s CEO, David Hisco, and the disclosure by Stuff of the lavish benefits he enjoyed during his tenure.
Through a recent staff survey, ANZ found that “overall trust” in senior leadership at the bank has fallen to 49 per cent. And only 60 per cent of bank employees said they feel able to raise issues and concerns within ANZ “without fear of negative consequences”.
That measure fell from 86 per cent before Hisco’s departure.
Staff satisfaction also dropped to 69 per cent from 83 per cent, while 71 per cent of employees said they would recommend the bank as a place to work to friends and family, down from 87 per cent previously.
READ MORE:
* ANZ needs a new broom for a boss, not a continuation from the dark days of banking
* Did fear of reprisal stop ANZ acting on whistleblower tip?
* How did ANZ lose money on a house in the hottest housing market in memory?
ANZ distributed the results of the “My Voice” survey to staff by email last week; a source within the bank shared them with Stuff, but requested anonymity fearing reprisal. ANZ has warned staff against speaking to the press.
ANZ spokesman Stefan Herrick said the company held the survey following Hisco’s departure in order to “find out the mood of people after the leadership change”. He called the results “disappointing but not surprising considering what’s happened”.
Note:
David Hisco's "non monetary benefits," averaged $441,116 a year, for a total of $3.35 million across his eight full financial years in ANZ New Zealand's top job.
 |
| David Hisco [left] wife Deborah Walsh [middle] |
In the internal email to all ANZ NZ staff, acting CEO Antonia Watson also called the results disappointing, and asked employees to be open with their concerns.
In June, the bank announced Hisco’s departure; chairman Sir John Key said Hisco had misrepresented tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of personal bills as business expenses, including wine cellaring and chauffeur-driven cars.
In making the announcement with acting CEO Antonia Watson at his side (Hisco was already off work on medical leave), Key said Hisco’s actions fell short of the standard of integrity required by the bank.
But subsequent revelations by Stuff quickly revealed that Key and Watson had given only a very partial accounting of the benefits Hisco enjoyed as ANZ NZ’s top banker.
A company owned by ANZ NZ purchased this $7.5m St Heliers home for former chief executive David Hisco. It then sold the house to his wife at a huge loss.
For example, in 2017, the bank sold Hisco’s wife, Deborah Walsh, the six bedroom Auckland mansion Hisco had previously rented from ANZ and expensed as a benefit of employment.
The sale price was close to $4 million less than the home’s rateable value, and it was not disclosed to shareholders and regulators as a related party transaction.
ANZ had also spent more than $500,000 renovating the home in 2015 and 2016, and it footed more than $100,000 annually in maintenance costs.
Acting CEO Antonia Watson has refused to answer questions about the sale, though she knew the details. In 2017, she was a director of Arawata Assets, ANZ’s wholly owned real estate holding company which sold 269 St. Heliers Bay Road to Walsh.
Sir John Key, pictured with acting ANZ chief executive Antonia Watson. Key didn't mention that Hisco's business expense account, reported by the bank as "non monetary benefits" topped A$464,577 in 2018.
The source who leaked the survey results said employees see ANZ executives as hypocritical. “They knew what was going on with Hisco even as they were enforcing integrity for everyone else,” the source said.
The staffer said that both Felicity Evans, former general manager of human resources and Watson, then head of retail and business banking, were enthusiastic enforcers of ANZ’s “culture of integrity,” and took a strict line with middle managers on such breaches as company credit card use for personal spending.
Evans left the bank in 2018; she was a director of Arawata in 2017 when the St Heliers house was sold.
Annis O’Brien was also a director of Arawata in 2017 and remains on the bank’s executive team.
Antonia Watson is understood to be in the running for the permanent CEO position. ANZ said it expects to announce Hisco’s replacement in late September or October.
Australian-based ANZ has the largest share of the lending market in New Zealand. Following recent events, the New Zealand regulator, the Reserve Bank, requested it commission two independent reviews of its operations.
ANZ has confirmed that one of those reviews will consider how the bank conducted the sale of 269 St Heliers Bay Rd. It has not undertaken to make the results public or to share them with staff.
The second review will consider separate issues surrounding ANZ’s “persistent failure” to properly calculate how much capital it is required to keep on hand to mitigate against risks taken in its lending. To read the item in full go to:j
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/114825579/anz-nz-employees-trust-in-senior-leadership-tested-after-hisco-scandal
To finish up this subject here are some words from the: 350 Aotearoa team:
"On the surface, ANZ claims to be environmentally responsible and committed to climate action. But behind closed doors, it’s propping up the industry most responsible for climate breakdown.
With so many scandals remunerating among customers and officials, Sir John Key has promoted the bank’s values, vying for the people’s trust: He said;
“[David Hisco’s] departure demonstrates that when people do not do the right thing we hold them to account no matter their status or position in the organisation. This culture of strong values is one I, and the ANZ New Zealand board believe is important.”
Well John, we’re here to hold ANZ to account. It’s clear a bank that has created an architecture of deceit and denial around its association with the fossil fuel industry cannot be trusted.
Peter, you and I both value a safe and just planet to live on, a clean energy future, and investment in the livelihoods of future generations and those most affected by climate breakdown. ANZs facade of empty climate policies to cover up its alliance with the fossil fuel industry is not something to be proud of. I’ll call out ANZ’s greenwash and share the video online.
Ngā mihi nui,
Claudia, on behalf of the 350 Aotearoa team.
P.S. If you’re not on Facebook, watch and share the video on YouTube here.
No comments:
Post a Comment