NAB banker Mike Baird withdraws $4m in fast exit

Mike Baird is stepping down as a NAB executive in circumst­ances as abrupt and unexpecte­d as his decision to leave politics.

Mike Baird will wind up at NAB on April 15 with an “open mind” to the future. Picture: Britta Campion

After amassing a fortune worth more than $4m over the past three years, Mike Baird is stepping down as an executive with the Nat­ional Australia Bank in circumst­ances as abrupt and unexpecte­d as his decision to leave politics three years ago.

The former NSW premier, who led the company’s consumer banking arm and survived a string of corporate challenges that include­d a royal commission into the banking sector and a climate of low interest rates, announced his resignation to the sharemarket on Thursday.

The announcement immediately triggered speculation that Mr Baird had been tapped to run in Tony Abbott’s former seat of Warringah — currently held by independent Zali Steggall — at the next federal election, but he has been privately insisting to friends that he is not interested in a ­return to public office.

Mike Baird has been privately insisting to friends that he is not interested in a ­return to public office. Picture: Britta Campion

Instead, Mr Baird said, he would wind up at NAB on April 15 with an “open mind” to the future.

His comments were remin­iscent of those he offered on his sudden resignation as premier in January 2017, when he spoke of taking time out to devote more energy to his family. That announcement came just six weeks before he was appointed to NAB.

Mr Baird’s latest resignation does not point to any obvious catalyst, except perhaps restless ambition. A year ago, he put his hand up to become the bank’s chief executive, a tilt that suggested an appet­ite to stay at NAB well into the future.

Ross McEwan, a global fin­ance chief who previously headed the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, was ultimately awarded the post.

In withdrawing his bid, Mr Baird cited family again as the ­reason — an episode of ill-health involving his wife.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Ross and I know the cultural and structural changes being considered will be strong foundations for NAB’s future,’’ he said in his statement released­ on Thursday. “He will make a big difference,”

Privately, Mr Baird, who declined to comment for this article, has made some of his discontent clear: locking in behind Mr Mc­Ewan, at the relatively youthful age of 51, was a less palatable optio­n­ than others.

Given his profile, seeking a new role without quitting was never going to be viable, The Australian has been told.

Already, he has “had a few nibbles­” from potential employers, a source said, although this did not include Westpac, which lost its chief executive in November.

Mr McEwan, who was understood to have been disappointed by Mr Baird’s decision, said in the same statement that he could “understand and accept the reasons­” for his departure, which was tendered last month.

“Mike has been a tremendous leader, challenger of convention and staunch advocate for customers in his time at NAB. He has always­ spoken up for doing the right thing and been a voice for the broader community,” he said.

The resignation prompted immediate conjecture that Mr Baird would consider a run against Ms Steggall, who won the previously safe Liberal seat of Warringah off Mr Abbott last year.

Unlike a slew of other candid­ates jockeying for the role, Mr Baird’s name has been touted as a clear and obvious frontrunner to take back the seat if he chose to stand. Yet a NSW governme­nt minister said: “The preselection is still a year away, so the timing wouldn’t make sense for that.”

While Mr Baird is understood to be considering work across a range of fields, a return to politics is off the table. When he stood down as premier, he spoke of having­ made his contrib­ution to public life, and the need to vacate before growing stale.

His approval ratings waned from meteoric highs, after a ban on greyhound racing, which did not proceed, and implementation of lockout laws that have been partly repealed. He was also the architect behind several successful fundraising initiatives, primarily a plan to partly privatise the state’s electricity distribution network, which paved the way for years of infrastructure spending.

He was premier for almost three years, a position that earned him an annual salary of $377,780.

By the end of his first five months at NAB, Mr Baird had more than doubled his salary, to $886,845.

By the end of his second year, when he transferred from corporate to consumer banking, he had earned a package worth $2.29m, according to the bank’s 2018 annual reporting figures.

Disclosures in NAB’s annual reports put Mr Baird’s total remuneration at $4.8m.

With his focus on customers, and with responsibility for 7000 bank branches, Mr Baird was not shy about delving into the weeds to try to overhaul its culture, which took a battering, along with the other big banks, during the royal commission hearings.

He once sat in a call centre with the bank’s chairman, Phil Chronican, answering complaints from customers to try to improve NAB’s image.

Australian Banking Associa­tion chief Anna Bligh — herself a former state premier, in Queensland — described Mr Baird’s contrib­ution to the industry as an important one during a difficult period, particularly as it focused on customers and community during the royal commission.