ANZ taps ex-HSBC banker Nuno Matos to succeed Shayne Elliott as CEO
ANZ has shunned two leading internal leadership candidates amid its lingering scandal, with the big four bank appointing outside candidate and Portuguese banker Nuno Matos to the top job.
ANZ has shunned two leading internal leadership candidates amid its lingering scandal, with the banking major appointing outside candidate and Portuguese banker Nuno Matos to the top job.
The former top HSBC banker will take on the top job at ANZ in July next year, with incumbent boss Shayne Elliott to exit after a short handover period.
The several month transition is set to mark nine years in the role for Mr Elliott at ANZ.
But market watchers warned the appointment of Mr Matos showed the depth of uncertainty around ANZ’s current top team and a lingering investigation into the bank’s markets team.
ANZ is facing down a probe from the corporate regulator, looking into allegations the bank’s traders manipulated the government bond market last year.
Wilson Asset Management portfolio manager Matthew Haupt said the uncertainty around the bond trading scandal made it almost impossible to appoint an internal candidate as ANZ’s new boss.
“We don’t know the outcome of this bond stuff yet, to hire an internal who has been involved in it, that made it difficult,” he said.
But he warned hiring outside candidates in banking had historically “not been great”.
Mr Haupt said he had been scrambling to understand Mr Matos’ history, with the Portuguese national, who joined HSBC in 2015 after a stint at Spanish bank Santander, a relative unknown to local investors.
“All the reports so far have been fairly OK, I wouldn’t say amazing” he said.
Mr Matos’ appointment comes after months of searching for a new ANZ boss, with recruiters interviewing multiple internal and external candidates inside domestic and international rivals.
The search for a replacement for Mr Elliott ramped up in late October with headhunting firm Spencer Stuart holding a host of meetings with senior bankers.
The deepening bond trading scandal pushed out the bank’s preferred internal successor, institutional boss Mark Whelan from contention for the top job.
The well-regarded ANZ New Zealand boss Antonia Watson was also seen in the post but is believed to have ruled herself out early given the relocation to Australia for the role.
Mr Haupt said he was surprised Mr Elliott was to be replaced so suddenly.
“You’d think he’d see the ASIC stuff through and remove uncertainty and allow the internals to step up,” he said.
ANZ shares closed down 3.6 per cent, or $1.12, at $30.03 each, with analysts highlighting the long transition period ahead of Mr Matos’ commencement.
Shayne Elliott’s bond trading scandal
But ANZ chair Paul O’Sullivan said the looming bond trading scandal did not impact the timing of the CEO handover.
“No, this is not about that matter, and I’ve talked extensively about how the board and the executive are responding to that matter, both in the annual report, in a number of other statements,” he said.
Mr O’Sullivan is leading an ANZ board subcommittee which is considering the bond trading scandal.
“This was driven by the availability of talent and by the fact that, you know, we had an outstanding international banker who was available on the market, and we wanted to make sure we took advantage of that,” Mr O’Sullivan said.
The ANZ chair said although the bank had a “very strong internal bench” of candidates, Mr Matos had offered strengths across retail and wholesale banking and past experience in integrations.
“Having assessed multiple external and internal candidates, we know Nuno is the right person to build on the transformation already well progressed under the leadership of Shayne and his team,” Mr O’Sullivan said.
Early in October, Mr Elliott said he didn’t expect to remain in ANZ’s top job to see through a multi-year integration of Suncorp’s bank, as he hinted at a potential changeover in 2025.
But on Monday Mr Elliott was nowhere to be seen, with ANZ not making the top boss available to media.
Mr Matos also was not available to answer media questions, but did address 140 senior executives at ANZ in an early morning meeting at the bank’s headquarters in Melbourne.
At HSBC, Mr Matos held top jobs, including as chief executive officer of HSBC’s UK bank and HSBC Europe.
He had been previously considered to be in the running to become HSBC’s global chief executive, but was passed over for the role by Georges Elhedery in September.
He had also been linked to the Westpac top job, although the Sydney-based bank opted for internal candidate Anthony Miller.
No change to ANZ strategy under new CEO
Mr Matos’ appointment comes as Mr Elliott faces a deepening crisis with the bank’s bond trading scandal which has attracted scrutiny from the Australian Securities & Investments Commission and the prudential regulator.
Mr Elliott had long been expected to flag his exit either at the end of this year or early next year.
However, an ongoing investigation into the bank by ASIC has complicated the timing.
ASIC is expected to finalise its investigation early next year.
ANZ chairman Paul O’Sullivan flagged there would be “no change in strategy” under incoming boss Mr Matos, noting the veteran banker would have “a chance to continue to evolve that strategy”.
Mr Matos will be left to secure the integration of Suncorp Bank, which ANZ snapped up in a $4.9bn deal, alongside pushing through the $2.5bn ANZ Plus technology upgrade.
Mr Elliott, 60, said the integration of the Suncorp Bank acquisition was a “huge opportunity” for ANZ, but he was unlikely to remain at the helm to complete it.
Mr Matos will be paid $2.5m, plus short and long term incentives, for his role running ANZ.
Mr Elliott was paid $4.1m in 2024.
But shareholders will also be called on to approve a “top up” payment to Mr Matos at the 2025 annual general meeting.
From 30 September Mr Elliott will receive a three months’ entitlement, plus any accrued leave, when he finishes up at the bank.
He also retains any unvested deferred bonuses, with shareholders to be called on to approve a long-term award at the upcoming AGM on December 19.
In an internal note published by ANZ, Mr Matos said he had a “positive agenda” for the bank.
“To capture that, we will need to execute fast with pace, with precision, trying to get the last mile with the performance driven approach, with a lot of passion,” he said.
UBS analyst John Storey said Mr Matos faces a number of challenges, cautioning he would not be a “plug-and-play” CEO.
Mr Storey said Mr Matos was “ticking a lot of boxes in our view”, with the career banker “well regarded by the market, having narrowly missed out on the HSBC CEO position”.
But the UBS analyst said Mr Matos would “take a bit of time getting up to speed” noting as an external candidate he was a “clean slate” compared to Mr Elliott.
Mr Storey said Mr Matos could make “the necessary changes to the group’s operating model, drive an improved stakeholder outcome and introduce new ideas/focus into the group” when he takes the top job.
MST Marquee banks senior analyst Brian Johnson said ANZ’s guidance was “there will be no strategic change” noting this “may have been inevitable”.
Mr Johnson said the new ANZ boss would be walking into a bank facing an ASIC investigation, as well as lending “at what looks like below cost of capital returns”.
ASIC investigating allegations
The CEO announcement comes as regulators are preparing to ratchet up pressure on ANZ over a scandal in its markets business, with ASIC investigating allegations of market manipulation in a $14bn government bond placement, as well as false or incorrect data being provided to the government bond agency.
ANZ has sacked or stood down several traders in relation to the scandal.
The Australian revealed on Friday that senior ANZ traders personally footed the expenses of other staff, allegedly including a member of its risk team, for travel and dining, according to new revelations about the culture of the bank’s scandal-plagued markets business.
ANZ in November revealed the scandal surrounding the bank’s markets business had cost Mr Elliott $1.1m, after his bonus was docked by 46 per cent.
ANZ’s internal assessment of the trading issue found no material wrongdoing by bank staff in the bond market, but identified staff conduct issues within its markets division and longstanding errors in how it was reporting data to the Australian Office of Financial Management.
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority ordered ANZ to bring in external consultants from Oliver Wyman to examine the bank’s markets business, a probe already underway, in the wake of handing ANZ a $250m capital penalty.
NAB and Westpac have announced CEO change overs in 2024, alongside Bendigo and Adelaide Bank.
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