Westpac boss Brian Hartzer faces a tough fight to retain his job with many fund managers thinking he will be the third big bank boss to fall on his sword in the past 18 months.
The first to go was CBA chief Ian Narev early last year, then NAB’s Andrew Thorburn and now potentially Hartzer.
The key paragraph in the statement of claim described the bank’s actions as being “indifference by senior management and inadequate oversight by the board”.
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That, and the spectre of child exploitation, is not much different to the damning paragraph in the Royal Commission report which saw Thorburn and his chair Ken Henry depart.
The Westpac moves will not happen immediately because they are just allegations, but the writing is on the wall writ large and his response will be key to the survival.
Hartzer is fighting and is likely to argue he has made the changes to ensure the problems won’t happen again.
The heir apparent at Westpac is consumer boss David Lindberg.
Hartzer will argue he has changed the key personnel, including a new risk officer in David Stephen, a new head of institutional in Lyn Cobley and a new head of financial crime in Scott Saunders.
The bank’s initial reaction is one thing, but some shareholders will say this is just another snafu at Westpac under Hartzer who took the reins in 2015.
To be fair this one happened before his time, but the reality is, the bank’s shareholders will want a clean slate now.
Someone’s head will roll. It’s just a question of how many and whom.
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