ANZ New Zealand CEO David Hisco stands down over chauffeur stoush

David Hisco made a whopping $3.5 million last financial year. But he still managed to rack up a $25,000 bill that has cost him his job.

A bank boss on a staggering multimillion-dollar salary has stood down after being caught up in an expenses “rort”.

David Hisco — the Australian CEO of ANZ New Zealand — has “parted company” with the bank after an investigation into his expenses revealed he had racked up a large bill, allegedly for chauffeur-driven cars, over several years.

According to The Australian, the 55-year-old allegedly booked the personal trips “directly” to ANZ, with a total cost “in the order of $25,000”.

That’s despite the CEO’s generous wage, which was $3.5 million in the last full financial year, as reported by AAP.

In a statement, ANZ did not provide further details but confirmed Mr Hisco’s departure and said “ongoing health issues” were also a factor.

Mr Hisco has been on sick leave since May.

ANZ NZ CEO David Hisco’s 30-year career at the bank has come to a shocking end. Picture: Supplied

“While Mr Hisco does not accept all of the concerns raised by the board, he accepts accountability given his leadership position and agrees the characterisation of the expenses falls short of the standards required,” the statement reads.

Mr Hisco will still get contracted and statutory entitlements to notice and untaken leave, although he will lose all unvested equity.

He has been replaced by acting CEO Antonia Watson who has been in the role for 10 years, with a further 20 years spent at the bank in other senior positions.

The Australian Financial Review reports Mr Hisco’s “expenses rort” comes in the midst “of an escalating stoush with the country’s central bank”.

It began when news broke the Reserve Bank of New Zealand was considering “a sharp capital impost for Australian banks”, which prompted ANZ Bank CEO Shayne Elliott to threaten to “reallocate capital elsewhere”.

ANZ was then “penalised for running authorised capital models going back to 2014”.

In a statement, ANZ NZ chair and former prime minister Sir John Key said Mr Hisco’s decision to stand down was the right thing to do.

“We are disappointed David is leaving ANZ under such circumstances after such a long career, however his departure is the right one in these circumstances given the expectations we have of all our people, no matter how senior or junior,” he said, according to AAP.

He said during a televised press conference Mr Hisco and the bank had “parted company, and it was mutual”.

“We have to be able to have trust in what people are recognising in their records, and in that regard David would say he did not meet the standard he sets for the rest of our staff and himself,” he said.

Mr Hisco made $3.5 million last financial year. Picture: Hollie Adams/The Australian

Meanwhile, at the same press conference, Ms Watson said she was “shocked and disappointed” by the situation.

Mr Hisco’s surprise departure comes just months after Australia’s banking royal commission uncovered widespread poor behaviour within our own banking sector.

In February, NAB chief executive Andrew Thornburn and chair Ken Henry both quit after being singled out by the royal commission’s damning final report.

Mr Thorburn walked away from the role with a huge golden handshake, pocketing an exit payment of more than $1 million.

He was also eligible for any outstanding leave — but forfeited “all unvested deferred awards”.

It meant he was expected to walk away from more than 883,000 performance rights — worth an astounding $21.7 million.

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