NAB chief Andrew Thorburn to take extended leave

Andrew Thorburn is understood to have told colleagues he is planning to take a period of extended leave.

Andrew Thorburn, Group Chief Executive Officer of NAB appearing at a House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture Kym Smith

National Australia Bank chief executive Andrew Thorburn is taking a period of extended leave through January and February at a crucial time for the bank, as Royal Commissioner Kenneth Hayne prepares his final report.

Sources told The Australian on Monday that Mr Thorburn told his group executives and senior managers on Friday that he was taking a period of annual leave, but would return to the bank for several days in late January, to oversee its response to the royal commission’s final report.

Mr Thorburn is understood to have told NAB executives that he needed time to recharge.

The Australian understands that NAB has asked chief financial officer Gary Lennon to act as CEO in Mr Thorburn’s absence. Mr Thorburn is said to have discussed taking leave with NAB chairman Ken Henry earlier this year.

On Monday an NAB spokesman confirmed Mr Thorburn would be taking holidays following the bank’s AGM later this week. “He will return to work for the release of the royal commission’s final report, and to consider and lead NAB’s response,” the spokesman said.

“He will then take a month’s long service leave to refresh, recharge and spend time with his family before returning to lead NAB through the next stage of our transformation.”

Mr Thorburn told NAB employees of his plans via internal social media on Monday.

“I said to the ELG [executive leadership group] that it has been the biggest, most relentless year of my career – and I know this is true for many of our people at NAB,” his note said.

“I’ll be taking time over the Christmas and New Year period to reflect and recharge, and spend time with my family and. I’ll be back at the end of January/start of February as the final Royal Commission report is issued… a very significant time for the industry and for NAB as we continue to change and become better for our customers. After that I’ll be taking four weeks of long service leave – a further chance to reflect and recharge, and come back ready for what 2019 brings.”

But the late confirmation of Mr Thorburn’s unusually long period of leave will only fuel speculation about his tenure at the top of the bank after a torrid year which included appearances before the royal commission and parliamentary committees.

Mr Thorburn took the reins as NAB CEO in August 2014 after joining the bank in 2005.

Speculation about his future began in earnest when former NSW premier Mike Baird joined the bank three months after quitting politics in 2017 to become NAB’s chief customer officer. Head of business and private banking Anthony Healy and CTO Patrick Wright have also been talked about as potential successors to Mr Thorburn.

NAB holds its annual general meeting in Melbourne on Wednesday and investors are expected to deliver a strike against the bank’s remuneration report.

Mr Thorburn told The Australian’s annual CEO survey on the weekend that the company was one year into a three year transformation program that would simplify the bank. “Of course, we are facing significant questions as a sector around reputation and trust — and there’s a clear case for change, which we are committed to,” he said.

Asked how businesses could regain the trust of the community, Mr Thorburn said: “I’ve reflected on this trend deeply this year and it’s clear to me that in banking over the past two decades we’ve drifted from our customers and lost their trust because we were too short term and focused on the wrong things”.

It’s been a tough year for the CEOs of the major banks, who have all had to front intense questioning during the final round of the royal commission and prior to that parliamentary hearings in Canberra.

Mr Thorburn would be the second senior Australian banking executive to take extended leave of absence within the last week.

ANZ group executive for Australia Fred Ohlsson announced last week he would to take a career break in order to return to his native Sweden for an unspecified time.

December has already been a taxing month for NAB.

Police raided the home of Mr Thorburn’s former chief of staff Rosemary Rogers earlier in the month in connection with $113 million worth of corporate travel organised for the bank by corporate services company The Human Group.

The Australian is not suggesting any wrongdoing on behalf of Ms Rogers or Mr Thorburn, only that police were investigating the matter.