ANZ director retires

In a trading update to the ASX, ANZ announced that Ian Mcfarlane would retire as non-executive director at the conclusion of its 2016 Annual General Meeting held last week.

Mr Mcfarlane stepped down after having served almost 10 years on the bank’s board.

Board chairman David Gonski commented: “Ian has served as a non-executive director with great distinction since he joined the board in February 2017. This included very ably chairing the board risk committee over a period of great regulatory change and increased focus.”

Mr Gonski added: “Ian has given significant service to ANZ and we thank him for his contribution.”

ANZ addressed shareholders at the group’s AGM in Melbourne earlier this week, where ANZ chief executive Shayne Elliott admitted that the bank hasn’t performed as strongly as it would have liked.

“And, at the same time, the environment we’re operating in is shifting more rapidly than ever before,” Mr Elliott said at the time.

“Some changes are the normal cyclical changes that my predecessors have also managed like more subdued credit growth, low interest rates and the turning credit cycle,” he said.

“But other changes though are structural, like the disruptive impact of new technology and the rapid change in customer and community expectations, and the costs of additional capital and regulatory compliance.”

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