As Westpac chief Peter King prepares to vacate his role as chair of the Australian Banking Association, a question is looming as to whether NAB boss Ross McEwan is ready and willing to oversee the governance of the industry’s peak body.
According to baked-in convention, the position of ABA chair rotates between the chief executives of each of the four major banks every two years.
Tradition would dictate that McEwan is next in line to preside over the ABA Council, given that King was preceded in the role by CBA’s Matt Comyn (2019-21) and ANZ’s Shayne Elliott (2017-19).
However, McEwan’s dreadful attendance record at ABA Council meetings in recent years suggests he might be a reluctant starter.
According to disclosures in the ABA’s latest annual report published this week, McEwan and AMP chief Alexis George had the worst attendance records of members who served on the ABA Council throughout the 12 months to the end of June.
On page 39 of the 2023 annual report McEwan and George are shown to have attended only two of the five Council meetings held during the year.
Moreover, McEwan and George also missed the December 2022 annual general meeting of the organisation.
McEwan’s attendance at meetings in previous years was not much better. He participated in only two of the four meetings held in 2022.
In 2021 he attended three out of the five meetings.
The NAB chief appears to be the least engaged of the major bank bosses with the Council’s deliberations, which raises the prospect of whether the association might be better served selecting someone else as chair.
Over the corresponding three-year period, CBA chief Matt Comyn had a near-pristine attendance record, missing only one meeting, while Bank Australia’s representative Damien Walsh participated in every meeting he was eligible to attend.
Banking Day yesterday asked the ABA’s media unit if it could confirm whether the role of chair would rotate according to tradition.
Our inquiry elicited a diplomatic answer.
“Please note that our AGM will be held Friday 8 December,” an ABA spokesperson said.
“It is at this point that the new ABA Council Chair and Deputy Chair will be appointed into these roles.”
The ABA’s importance to the industry as a public advocate is evidenced by the increased funding it received from member banks last year to address a raft of research and communications projects of high public interest.
The organisation’s engagement in public debates widened in 2023 as the marketing machines of member banks struggled for cut-through on controversial issues relating to the industry’s liability for booming online fraud and the withdrawal of banking services from regional areas.
More than A$17 million was stumped up by member banks to fund the association’s activities – an increase of around $3.5 million on 2022.
The ABA also received funding from 17 associate members, which included the disgraced accounting firm, PwC.