Banning alcohol at Australian Bank would be difficult, CEO says

(Bloomberg) — ANZ Group Holdings Ltd. Chief Executive Shayne Elliott said the alcohol ban would be “difficult to implement” as the bank works to restore a troubled reputation following a series of scandals at its arm commercial.

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While Australia’s fourth-largest lender has not ruled out imposing such a policy after complaints of intoxicated staff on the trading floor, it would not be easy to do and maintain, Elliott told Haslinda Amin of on Bloomberg Television in an interview on Monday.

Elliott said he “doesn’t encourage the consumption of alcohol”, but banning it would be complicated by the fact that “most of our people are dealing with customer relations, going to events, lunches and all that sort of thing”.

The ANZ boss told MPs at a hearing in Canberra last month that the company’s board was reviewing workplace policies on alcohol consumption after it was revealed three people had left the bank following several allegations, including at least one for drink.

Elliott was unclear Monday whether the policy proposed changing the rules on office drinking or simply drinking alcohol during work hours. He said banning alcohol for staff on the trading floor was “a reasonable thing to do” but stopped short of committing to adopting it as a bank-wide policy.

The Melbourne-based bank is trying to move on from a trio of competing scandals that have all emerged from within its bond trading division this year. ANZ has taken action against staff over cultural and conduct issues and has also hired outside legal counsel to investigate allegations it exaggerated bond deals to win business. He also faces an investigation into his role in selling a government bond last year.

“These are pretty serious allegations and we’re dealing with them as a board,” Elliott said, adding that he “stops the buck with me” about the trading unit’s alleged wrongdoing. He spoke in Singapore, where the bank is celebrating 50 years of business.

Other highlights from the interview:

• Singapore has become the lender’s largest operation outside Australia, with about 760 bankers, and the firm expects more growth in China to support its major multinational clients who generally “continue to invest in China” .

• ANZ does not plan any asset disposals from its A$4.9 billion ($3.4 billion) takeover of Suncorp Bank, Elliott said. “Everything this bank has, we want”

• CEO says India is ‘massive growth opportunity for ANZ’

• ANZ sees few prime takeover opportunities remaining in traditional banking, but expects to engage with Asian fintech companies on potential additional acquisitions, Elliott said.

The story continues

–With assistance from Anand Menon and Joanne Wong.

(Updates with other highlights from the interview.)

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