ANZ CEO Nuno Matos calls for faster, bolder transformation

Nuno Matos toured banks branches and met key customers on his first day in charge. As for its flagship digital product ANZ Plus: ‘I would like to see it in front of every customer tomorrow.’

ANZ’s new CEO Nuno Matos on his first day visiting a branch in Bourke Street Melbourne. Picture: Arsineh Houspian

Thousands of staff turned out to question ANZ’s new boss Nuno Matos at a company town hall meeting as the Portuguese banker marked his first day at the top of the bank.

But despite the ceremony around the arrival of the former HSBC banker, who faced an hour of Q&A in the lofty foyer of ANZ’s Melbourne headquarters, observers told The Australian he largely stuck to the same script as his predecessor Shayne Elliott.

The ten thousand people who watched, including the nearly 2000 office attendees, said his plan is to move fast and focus on several key issues.

Mr Matos, who also spent 21 years at Spanish lender Santander, plans to fast track ANZ Plus, the digital bank transformation launched under Mr Elliott.

“I would like to see it in front of every customer tomorrow,” Mr Matos told the town hall.

This would come along with accelerating the integration of Queensland lender Suncorp Bank, scooped up in a $4.9bn deal.

The new ANZ boss also noted the importance of executing “the vision” of the banking major.

“A lot of the framework is absolutely right, but it’s about how we get there,” he said.

In a letter to staff, Mr Matos separately noted he would look to develop “a high performance, winning culture, with no short cuts from a values and behaviours perspective”.

ANZ’s new CEO Nuno Matos on his first day visiting a branch in Bourke Street Melbourne. Picture: Arsineh Houspian

Mr Matos faced an early morning meeting of ANZ’s non-financial risk committee, and key executive Mark Evans, who was handed the role of head of non-financial risk program delivery reporting to the CEO in April.

Prudential regulator APRA also slapped ANZ with an enforceable undertaking in April, as part of its inability to get on top of its non-financial risk issues.

Mr Matos has written to the heads of each of the regulators overseeing ANZ, with plans to meet the agencies in the coming weeks.

ANZ is facing a probe from the Australian Securities & Investments Commission, which is investigating whether its traders manipulated a $14bn government bond placement in 2023, and where ANZ denies wrongdoing.

ASIC has committed to landing on a decision, including whether the prosecute, by the middle of this year.

Mr Matos inherits a bank which reported a $3.56bn cash profit last week.

ANZ, which has styled itself as a lender for wealthier customers and major businesses, is competing hard in the commercial market.

Among Mr Matos’ introductions to ANZ on Monday, the bank boss met with several key customers including fast food player Schnitz and bedding and furniture retailer Ecosa.

He also toured ANZ’s branch on Melbourne’s Bourke Street, in the heart of the city.