Angry bank customers to get Kennett touch

His name’s Jeff, he’s from Victoria and he’s here to help NAB resolve its disputes with aggrieved customers.

Former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett.

National Australia Bank is borrowing from supermarket giant Coles’ playbook by drafting in a secret weapon, former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett, to help arbitrate customer disputes.

It comes as the bank has spotfires raging across its business as it navigates legal action by the corporate regulator, the Hayne royal commission fallout and a strong rebuke from shareholders on executive pay.

How NAB deals with aggrieved customers — and those with longstanding grievances and cases — will be telling on whether rhetoric about putting the customer at the centre of the bank’s operations has substance.

The Australian can reveal Mr Kennett — in a paid role — has been hired to help reassess customer cases, particularly those of 26 individuals who met with NAB chief executive Andrew Thorburn in Canberra after he fronted a parliamentary inquiry.

Some of those are part of a 100-person group dubbed the “Bank Warriors”, many of whom have travelled the country to attend the royal commission hearings and bought bank shares to speak directly to those at the top at annual general meetings.

‘Bank Warriors’ Michael Sanderson, Selwyn Crepp and Craig Caulfield at the NAB AGM this week. Picture: David Geraghty

Aggrieved customer Selwyn Krepp was flanked this week at NAB’s fiery annual meeting by fellow Bank Warriors including Craig Caulfield and Michael Sanderson.

The group was able to lob about 10 questions, including about the bank’s culture and accountability, at NAB’s besieged board on Wednesday.

In solidarity with Commonwealth Bank whistleblower and bow-tie wearer Jeff Morris, the male members have also started donning bow ties.

Their campaign comes as the banking sector’s compensation and compliance bill — across the big four — has swelled to more than $1.4 billion. The total, as the royal commission’s work ends, is expected to be multiples of that.

On longstanding cases, NAB will be pinning its hopes on Mr Kennett and the strategy of using high-profile people to sort out disputes. Coles hired Mr Kennett after he referred the company to the competition regulator in 2013 over false “baked fresh” bread claims. Two years later he was adjudicating between Coles and its smallest suppliers over fines and extra rebates.

But it doesn’t always go to plan. 7-Eleven brought in critic and former Australian Competition & Consumer Commission boss Allan Fels to help steer a panel assessing workers’ entitlements following revelations many were being underpaid, only to later dump the panel.

NAB will likely draw on Mr Kennett’s negotiating skills and experience as a former chairman of Beyondblue. He isn’t, however, a qualified arbitrator.

But Mr Krepp doesn’t have a lot of faith in NAB’s attempts to reassess his and other longstanding disputes after meeting with Mr Kennett in recent weeks.

An email this week to the group of 26 told them Mr Kennett’s assessment would be complete by the end of January: “It is an experiment. I was unclear what Jeff Kennett’s charter or purpose was.”

Having an understanding of the sector as a former employee at another bank, Mr Krepp’s case centred on NAB’s treatment of him after a fall that left him unable to work for some time. Several of his properties were seized.

“We had hardship and I flagged it,” he said.

“They (NAB) had hardship assistance but refused to invoke it.”

But the now superseded Financial Ombudsman Service ruled substantially in favour of NAB in Mr Krepp’s case. He is determined to keep fighting.

Commissioner Kenneth Hayne, during his final round of hearings with bank chiefs and regulators, said executives needed more accountability and to behave in a more commonsense way. Mr Krepp agrees: “They have words but they don’t match it with actions.”