Curtain call: The actors who remade banking
Some landed plum jobs, while others are selling gift hampers. Here’s what happened to the main players after the curtain came down on the biggest drama in banking.
From withering looks to ambulance sirens, the Hayne royal commission was a theatrical drama. But what happened to the main players after the curtains closed?
KENNETH HAYNE
Then:
Kenneth Hayne was the chair of the financial services royal commission, best known for withering looks from the bench. Hayne, a former high court justice, was picked to run the royal commission in December 2017 after the government established the inquiry amid political pressure and criticism of the financial sector.
Now:
Hayne is now retired from the courts, but remains a member of the bar. He played a role in the Voice referendum campaign, and has only spoken a few times about the royal commission.
ROWENA ORR
Then:
Rowena Orr led the team assisting Kenneth Hayne’s financial services royal commission, running the team of senior and junior counsel who conducted a series of hearings around the country. Orr, a senior barrister, was known as one of the leading inquisitors of the financial sector whose questioning cost a number of senior figures their jobs after seeking assurances only to reveal matters were not as they seemed.
Now:
Orr was appointed Victorian Solicitor General in May 2021, replacing Kristen Walker, after acting for the government in several matters after the financial services royal commission. This included a Court of Appeal fight by Tony Mokbel to have drug charges quashed as well as heading up Crown’s fight to preserve its licence after the casino group faced an inquiry.
MICHAEL HODGE
Then:
The baby-faced senior counsel assisting, Michael Hodge was one of several eager legals punctuating the royal commission and ensuring the torture continued for cast of financial unfortunates. Hodge joined Rowena Orr in tackling several of the major matters that surfaced in the inquiry including revelations of super sized misconduct in the national retirement savings scheme.
Now:
Hodge has since settled into a similar set of post-royal commission responsibilities as many others lawyers, mostly recently finding himself enlisted in the Insignia Financial class action as well as fighting it out on behalf of news website Crikey.
BRIAN HARTZER
Then:
As one of several senior banking figures to go through the royal commission, Brian Hartzer the then-boss of Westpac is unlikely to want to revisit the experience. Hartzer found himself facing Michael Hodge over Westpac’s relationship with the corporate regulator, highlighted at the time as troubled. Hartzer survived the royal commission, but exited Westpac soon after as the bank was hit by another crisis after Austrac took aim over failures to stop transactions to the Philippines involving child exploitation.
Now:
Hartzer has reinvented himself in the years after the royal commission, take charge of several lending operations. Most recently he was appointed to run Woolworth-backed data analytics operation Quantium Health.
SAM HENDERSON
Then:
A high flying financial adviser, columnist, and sometimes TV star, Sam Henderson saw his career take a tumble after it was revealed his staff impersonated clients to super funds and he had overstated his university qualifications at the royal commission. Henderson spent much of his appearance apologising for the actions of his firm, after it was revealed his advice to one potential client would have cost her almost $500,000.
Now:
Banned for three years and hit with a $10,000 fine for dishonest conduct, Henderson is now selling gift hampers and offering life and business coaching.
CATHERINE BRENNER
Then:
Chair of financial services giant AMP, Catherine Brenner resigned in the wake of AMP’s appearance before the royal commission, after it was revealed the company had banked millions after charging fees to its customers for no service and misled ASIC more than 20 times.
Now:
Brenner was cleared by ASIC over her time at AMP and has since attached herself to a number of new boards after resigning from many of her roles in the wake of the royal commission. She now sits on the boards of Scentre, Adara Group, Emmi, and chairs Australian Payments Plus, the merged BPay, EFTPOS and NPPA company.
TERRY MCMASTER
Then:
Terry McMaster made headlines after fainting before withering questioning at the royal commission after being accused of lying about his company Dover Financial’s protection policy. Dover Financial had been spotlighted by the royal commission after the firm was found to have hired a slew of financial advisers who had been pinged at previous licensees for poor behaviour.
Now:
Dover Financial was hit with a $1.2m fine, while McMaster was also ordered to pay a $240,000 fine after ASIC secured orders against him in the wake of the royal commission.
KEN HENRY
Then:
A former veteran public servant, Ken Henry found himself one of several casualties at the Royal Commission after a disastrous appearance before Rowena Orr and being singled out alongside NAB chief executive Andrew Thorburn in Commissioner Kenneth Hayne’s final report. Henry was picked out by Hayne as a sign NAB had not learned the lessons of humility and accountability when Hayne warned he “seemed unwilling to accept any criticism of how the board had dealt with some issues”. Thorburn resigned, while Henry agreed to stay on until a replacement was found for the bank.
Now:
Henry has resurfaced as a public policy wonk, chairing the Australian Climate and Biodiversity Foundation as well as pushing for tax reform.
ANDREW THORBURN
Then:
NAB boss Andrew Thorburn was also singled out by Commissioner Kenneth Hayne in his final report, with the career banker soon exiting in the wake of the royal commission. Hayne took aim at Thorburn, warning he had treated NAB’s fees for no service scandal “as nothing more than carelessness combined with system deficiencies when the total amount to be repaid by NAB and NULIS on this account is likely to be more than $100m”.
Now:
Thorburn, who lists his official job as “on sabbatical”, has had a number of roles in the wake of exiting NAB including a disastrous tilt for the top job at AFL club Essendon.
MATT COMYN
Then:
As the new boss after the sudden departure of Ian Narev in the wake of Austrac action against Australia’s largest bank, Matt Comyn was charged with explaining the litany of failures at CBA before the royal commission. But Comyn managed to escape the inquisition intact after acknowledging the failures of the bank and committing CBA to a number of changes.
Now:
Comyn, who remains at the top of CBA, has unwound a number of the parts of the bank that landed the lender before the royal commission. Advice has been ditched, as has insurance, and superannuation. Commonwealth Bank has also pumped millions into upgrading its systems and remediating customers, issues squarely identified in the royal commission’s report.
JOSH FRYDENBERG
Then:
Few images resonate as strongly from the royal commission as the day Kenneth Hayne handed over his report to Josh Frydenberg, refusing to shake the hand of the then treasurer.
But Frydenberg did not kick start the inquiry, with Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison, his then-treasurer, agreeing to the royal commission in the dying days of 2017.
Frydenberg was instead charged with pushing through a number of the recommendations made in the report, with mixed views as to the eagerness of the government to carry through several of the bigger pushes.
Now:
Frydenberg, now retired from politics, is chair of Goldman Sachs Australian and New Zealand business. The government pushed through several legislative reforms in the wake of the royal commission, but baulked at other proposed moves from Hayne.
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