CORPORATE CULTURE – AUSTRALIA

Westpac admits to being less mature on non-financial risks

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 21 : 25-Jun-19

Westpac has begun to implement the recommendations arising from a self-assessment of its culture and governance, while it will also take on board any feedback from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. APRA requested the major banks to undertake a self-assessment in the wake of governance scandals at the Commonwealth Bank. Westpac has not released the full report of its self-assessment, but shareholders have been told that the review showed that its management of non-financial risks can be improved.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

NAB chief warns: culture fix may be a decade away

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 2 : 27-Nov-18

National Australia Bank’s chairman Ken Henry has conceded that it could take up to 10 years to address issues with the bank’s culture that have been exposed by the financial services royal commission. He has told the inquiry that NAB has had the lowest compliance risk rating for all but one month in the seven years that he has been its board. Henry also said that it is more appropriate for the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority to have oversight of the banking sector’s culture than the Australian Securities & Investments Commission.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Chairmen in hot seat at commission

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 31-Oct-18

Remuneration in the banking sector will come under scrutiny during the financial services royal commission’s final round of public hearings, which commences on 19 November. There is also speculation that the chairs of some, if not all, of Australia’s four major banks will be asked to appear before the inquiry. The banks’ self-­assessments of their governance and culture are also expected to be on the royal commission’s agenda.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Whistleblower at Westpac calls out risks

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Original article by James Eyers, John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 22-Oct-18

An unnamed risk manager at Westpac has claimed that he was bullied and ignored after he voiced concerns about deficiencies in regard to a technology project. He has reported the matter to WorkSafe New South Wales and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. The risk manager says his performance reviews appeared to have suffered as a result of his raising concerns about the technology project, and that his treatment was evidence of a poor risk culture at Westpac.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, WORKSAFE NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

CBA abusing the law fighting customers: Labor

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 12-Oct-18

Commonwealth Bank of Australia CEO Matt Comyn appeared before the House of Representatives economics committee on 11 October. He admitted that the misconduct exposed by the financial services royal commission had hurt some customers, and said CBA is changing its organisational culture in the wake of the scandals that have rocked the bank. Labor MP Clare O’Neil criticised CBA’s approach to dealing with customers’ complaints, including the use of aggressive litigation tactics.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

New chief Comyn pledges to restore confidence in CBA

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 10-Apr-18

Commonwealth Bank of Australia CEO Matt Comyn has told staff that he is committed to changing the culture at the bank in the wake of a series of scandals. Comyn conceded that CBA had not done enough to protect the interests of its customers, and apologised for the mistakes made by himself and other top executives. Brett Le Mesurier of Shaw & Partners says acting on the recommendations of the banking royal commission will be a key challenge for Comyn, who formally succeeded Ian Narev as CEO on 9 April.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSSIE HOME LOANS LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Catalano conduct raised two years ago

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis, Aaron Patrick
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 8-Feb-18

Sources have alleged that Domain Holdings’ human resources department had received a complaint about the conduct of former CEO Antony Catalano in early 2016. Amongst other things, a Domain executive is said to have lodged a complaint about Catalano’s behaviour, the "blokey" culture at the property listings group and the promotion of a female intern to a permanent position. Catalano is said to have been aware of the complaint and subsequently asked the executive to leave, although sources within Domain claim that this was due to performance reasons.

CORPORATES
DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ

KPMG chair: chiefs should admit to errors

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Original article by Damon Kitney
The Australian – Page: 13 : 3-Jan-18

New KPMG chairwoman Alison Kitchen has urged corporate Australia to be more proactive when it comes to condemning bad behaviour within its ranks. Kitchen says companies should not wait for whistleblowers to disclose their problems, and that the community is tired of businesses not being prepared to own up to their mistakes. She says that if companies were willing to admit they had problems and had taken steps to fix them, that this might help to restore a level of community trust in the business sector.

CORPORATES
KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP, RETAIL FOOD GROUP LIMITED – ASX RFG, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

Seven reaches out to culture critics

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Original article by Dana McCauley
The Australian – Page: 24 : 2-Oct-17

Television network Seven is keen to work with the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance over concerns the journalists’ union has with its work culture. It has also invited journalist Tracey Spicer, who voiced similar concerns on an ABC television program, to meet with CEO Tim Worner. A spokesperson for Seven notes that 60 per cent of its newsroom producers and journalists are female, while it has been pointed out that it would not have been able to achieve the ongoing success that it has if it did not have a good team culture.

CORPORATES
SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SKY NEWS

Seven under pressure over ‘toxic’ workplace culture

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 27-Sep-17

Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance director Katelin McInerney says the Seven Network’s dismissal of Amy Taeuber demonstrates that media executives must be proactive in addressing the issue of harassment in the workplace. Seven has come under scrutiny in the wake of claims that Taeuber had been sacked after lodging a sexual harassment complaint. However, Seven has denied that this was the reason for her dismissal, which is believed to have been due to allegations that she made disparaging comments about reality-TV show contestants on a blog.

CORPORATES
SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION