BoQ drawing up shortlist in hunt for new CEO
Bank of Queensland hopes to find a new CEO within three months as headhunters draw up a shortlist.
Bank of Queensland has headhunting firm Egon Zehnder formalising a chief executive shortlist as it forges ahead with its aim of locking in a chief executive within three months.
The Australian understands BoQ is making progress on its CEO search, having identified five main candidates, but will not make an announcement to coincide with its half-year results today.
Sources said the last round of the search would see two standout contenders go to the board for a final decision in coming months.
External candidates are said to include AMP Bank chief Sally Bruce, Westpac’s institutional boss Lyn Cobley and outgoing Westpac consumer boss George Frazis.
Commonwealth Bank’s executive for business and private banking, Adam Bennett, is among senior bankers initially targeted by Egon Zehnder.
The strongest internal contender to run the $3.8 billion company is interim CEO Anthony Rose, while finance boss Matt Baxby and retail banking chief Lyn McGrath are also being considered.
Former CEO Jon Sutton resigned in December after three years in the BoQ top job to focus on his health, following a heart operation earlier in 2018.
Mr Rose, the chief operating officer, was appointed interim CEO while a search was undertaken. Mr Rose — who also had a stint as BoQ’s finance boss — is seen as a strong contender to win the role permanently.
A spokeswoman yesterday said BoQ was unable to comment on market speculation.
The bank is also yet to appoint an executive to run BoQ’s business banking operations, following the departure of Brendan White late last year to take up the role as CEO of Cash Converters.
Sources said headhunting firm Korn Ferry was overseeing that search.
The departures have been aplenty at BoQ. Last month, chief risk officer Peter Deans announced his retirement from May 31, although his replacement has already been named as BoQ Finance head Adam McAnalen.
Investors will get an update on the lending and trading environment when the bank reports its interim profit today and analysts are pencilling in a result of $168.3 million.
That is within a $165 million-$170 million targeted BoQ range, but down on 2018 interim earnings of $182 million.
Analysts at Morgan Stanley this week reiterated an underweight recommendation on BoQ and warned of a possible dividend cut.
“We see challenges for BoQ’s retail bank, given stalling mortgage volumes and falling margins despite consecutive SVR (standard variable rate loan) repricing,” they said. “While management has lowered BoQ’s risk profile, capital options are limited and the probability of a dividend cut is rising.”
BoQ’s annual profit slipped 5 per cent to $336 million in the 12 months ended August 31. The fall in profit came despite a 2 per cent increase in revenue to $1.1 billion.
BoQ’s shares are 3 per cent lower so far in 2019 and were last changing hands at $9.41.
The bank’s eight-member board led by Roger Davis is also on the lookout for new non-executive directors as succession planning at board level continues.
At its annual general meeting last year, investors overwhelmingly supported a BoQ resolution to increase the maximum number of directors permitted on the board under the constitution to 12 from 10.
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