ANZ bank boss Shayne Elliott worries about the future of Australia’s young people

ANZ boss Shayne Elliott has let forth on everything from affordable housing for young people and death duties to class privilege and protection of Qantas profit.

Something will always fill a vacuum and so it was this week in the grand ballroom of the Hilton Brisbane where ANZ boss Shayne Elliott filled the policy vacuum coming from Canberra with thoughts on everything from affordable housing for young people and death duties to class privilege and protection of Qantas’ profit.

At times, the Kiwi-born banker sounded more like an old-style Labor pollie with his talk of class divisions and aspiration. Well, a Labor pollie before they discovered the joys of holidaying on the Amalfi coast or chilled champagne in the Chairman’s Lounge at Sydney Airport. To understand Elliott’s views it is best to look at his upbringing.

Elliott grew up in suburban Auckland, the son of a builder whose own parents had lost their home in the Depression. “They would never own a house again and dad was really scarred by that,” Elliott told the QUT Business Leaders’ Forum. “My dad refused to borrow money for most of his life. He did borrow a small amount in his late 50s to buy a boat but other than that he was terrified of debt.”

Elliott, who initially wanted to be a teacher, fell into banking by accident after answering an ad in the newspaper for a graduate position with Citibank. “I loved it,” he said. “I was

Shayne Elliott at the QUT Business Leaders’ Forum.

working with these amazing people and it changed me.”

Elliott was later dispatched to run the bank’s operations in Egypt with a letter from the chairman that said ‘don’t stuff it up.’ He revealed he almost quit the bank later in his career when his father became seriously ill with cancer. “He only had a few months to live and I said I’m going home and quit,” he said. His boss declined to accept his resignation, instead sending him home on full pay and telling him to take as much time off as he liked. “I was a beneficiary of this and it really influenced me,” Elliott said.

Elliott is a big believer in learning on the job, saying banking isn’t rocket science. He doesn’t focus so much on a person’s resume, saying mindset and flexibility is much more important. Elliott, who has an 18-year-old daughter, worries about the future of young people. Worries they will never be able to buy a home if they are not lucky enough to have wealthy parents and even access bank credit. Homeownership is a form of social cohesion, he says. If we lose that cohesion where do we go as a country?

It’s rare for a corporate leader of Elliott’s stature to go beyond glib slogans and actually articulate policy. Let’s hope Canberra is listening.

Heir apparent

Watching in the wings as Elliott spoke at the Hilton was Suncorp Bank boss Clive van Horen, who has been tipped as the strongest contender to replace the ANZ boss when he eventually departs. Van Horen was appointed as Suncorp Bank’s chief executive in 2020, and before that time, spent a decade at the CBA where he led teams across retail and business banks. Van Horen also is expected to be one of the combined bank’s senior leaders if the deal to buy Suncorp Bank gets over the line.

Van Horen may have been hoping to pick up lucky door prize of an overnight stay at the Hilton but that honour went to a lunch guest from Westpac.