NAB survives pay strike amid strife

NATIONAL Australia Bank has been spared a second strike against its executive pay report — but the firm’s shortcomings on anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing have also been given another airing.

NAB chairman Philip Chronican told investors yesterday that the bank had not always met “100 per cent of (the) requirements” set out by financial crime watchdog AUSTRAC, but that it was working with the regulator to sort through the as-yet unspecified issues.

The admission at the bank’s annual meeting in Sydney comes a day after corporate watchdog ASIC announced it was suing the lender over its fees-for-no-service scandal and an alleged 10,000 breaches of the law.

NAB had already acknowledged in its 2019 annual report that it might have breached counter-terrorism and antimoney laundering laws on several occasions, raising the prospect of further remediation and a huge fine.

It is yet to detail the scope of any potential wrongdoing or fallout, but has provided documents and information to the financial intelligence watchdog.

Mr Chronican said NAB would continue to do “whatever is required” to improve compliance and said that open material risk issues had “reduced significantly in 2019”.

“The board is acutely aware of the risk that our banking services could be used by those with criminal intent and takes its obligations … very seriously,” Mr Chronican said.

Yesterday’s AGM, the first time Ross McEwan has fronted investors as the bank’s chief executive, follows legal action from ASIC over the fees-forno-service scandal.