ANZ shares lower on retirement of CEO Shayne Elliott
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More news: Shares of ANZ slid in early trading on the ASX after the big four bank announced the retirement of long-serving chief executive Shayne Elliott, and the appointment of his successor Nuno Matos.
ANZ shares were down 1.4% to $30.74 by 10:30am AEDT, having climbed 25% over the last 12 months. The financial sector was down 0.48% while the wider ASX 200 slipped 0.33%.
Former HSBC exec Nuno Matos to replace Shayne Elliott as ANZ CEO
More news: ANZ has named former HSBC executive Nuno Matos as its new chief executive, replacing Shayne Elliott, who will retire in July after nine years in the role.
Matos was most recently CEO of wealth and personal banking at HSBC, having joined the banking group from Santander in 2015. At HSBC, Matos held senior roles including CEO of HSBC Bank and HSBC Europe, and previously served as CEO Mexico and regional head of retail banking in Latin America.
Elliott, who will step down as CEO and executive director on 2 July 2025, first joined ANZ in 2009, having also served as the bank's institutional global managing director and chief financial officer.
What they said: "Nuno's appointment is the culmination of long-term systematic work by the board on leadership succession," said ANZ group chairman Paul O'Sullivan.
"Having assessed multiple external and internal candidates, we know Nuno is the right person to build on the transformation already progressed under the leadership of Shayne and his team," he said.
Matos said: "My initial focus will be to build on the work already underway and ensure all our stakeholders get even better value from their relationship with ANZ."
"Shayne led the critical transformation that will be the cornerstone of ANZ's long term success," Matos said.
Elliott said: "Leading ANZ over the last nine years has been the highlight of my career."
"I'm proud to be leaving the bank in such a strong position, particularly the work we have done to simplify the business, transforming institutional into one of the world's best and preparing our retail bank for the future.
"... We have a great team that care deeply about their customers and I will be working hard to ensure our multi-year strategy continues with urgency over the next seven months."
ANZ CEO Shayne Elliott to resign, AFR says
The news: ANZ CEO Shayne Elliott will announce his retirement after nine years in the role, with the Melbourne-based lender expected to appoint an outsider to the role, The Australian Financial Review reported citing two unnamed sources with knowledge of the plan.
The paper said an announcement could come as soon as Monday, a statement repeated by The Australian.
The ANZ board has been working with executive search firm Spencer Stuart to identify potential candidates, the paper added.
The context: Elliott, at ANZ's helm since 2016, has redefined the bank’s strategy during his tenure. He shrank its Asian operations, spearheaded the $4.9 billion Suncorp acquisition, and oversaw the launch of its ANZ Plus digital platform as part of a broader industry shift towards advanced banking technology.
His reported departure comes amid an ongoing investigation by the corporate regulator, ASIC’ into a bond trading scandal that led to Elliott’s bonus being cut by 46% this year.
The scandal involved misreported government bond volumes and cultural issues in the bank’s markets division, part of the wider institutional unit led by Mark Whelan.
Whelan was widely seen as Elliott’s most likely internal successor, but the scandal has diminished his prospects and ANZ is now expected to appoint an external candidate, according to the AFR.
Elliott's touted exit adds to the wave of leadership changes across Australia's banking sector in 2024, including NAB's Ross McEwan stepping down in February and Westpac’s Peter King being replaced by Anthony Miller this month. Bendigo and Adelaide Bank also appointed Richard Fennell as CEO earlier this year, succeeding Marnie Baker.
The numbers: Elliott will leave ANZ with its share price 20% higher so far this year but facing significant integration costs for Suncorp and ANZ Plus. Since his appointment, Elliott has delivered a total shareholder return of 111%, the AFR noted.
The bank posted a $6.7 billion profit for the year to September, down 8% amid competition in lending and deposits.
The sources: The Australian Financial Review, The Australian , ASX announcement
