ANZ ‘evasive’ on $6.9m deal

ANZ New Zealand won’t release the valuations that justified the lossmaking sale of an Auckland mansion to the wife of its former chief executive David Hisco, claiming it’s protecting the privacy of the valuers.

Deborah Walsh paid $6.9 million in July 2017 for the lavish St Heliers property, less than the $7.55m ANZ paid when it bought the house in early 2011, and well below the property’s 2017 capital value of $10.75m.

Sam Stubbs, founder of the Simplicity Kiwisaver scheme, wrote to the bank to ask for the valuations ANZ relied on for the deal, but said he was now considering legal action to force their release after his request was refused.

‘‘The reply was, in our opinion, evasive, and spoke to the hubris ANZ is displaying towards stakeholders and shareholders,’’ Stubbs said.

‘‘As shareholders on behalf of our Kiwisaver members, we are very unsatisfied with their response, because the sale and purchase of the house involved shareholder funds.’’

ANZ has been approached for comment.

Like most Kiwisaver schemes, Simplicity holds shares in ANZ, and Stubbs was not impressed with ANZ’S failure to reveal the related-party deal, which is being probed by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA).

‘‘We are very serious about this – it speaks to a fundamental principle that companies are ultimately responsible to their shareholders for how they spend their money,’’ he said.

‘‘Well over 2 million Kiwisaver members will be shareholders in the ANZ; it’s their money.

‘‘The ANZ reply did reconfirm the existence of valuations on the property. We are very interested to see these valuations, or at least know who the valuers were, the valuation range they gave on the property, and what other relationships they have with ANZ.

‘‘This is because the property sale was not recorded in their annual report, as they are required to do, and the sale price is extremely suspicious. That leads to suspicions also about the valuations on the property.’’

According to Stubbs, the bank said the valuations came with a duty to the valuers to keep them confidential.

He urged the bank to seek permission from the valuers to release copies of the registered valuations on the property.

‘‘It is simply unacceptable to withhold the details of a related-party transaction with the wife of the chief executive from shareholders. And the fact that [ANZ New Zealand chairman] John Key did not disclose it when announcing Hisco’s departure is also very unusual,’’ Stubbs said.

‘‘That leads to our view that the ANZ has a moral obligation, and probably a legal obligation, to release all details about this transaction and deal with the consequences. If they have nothing to hide, presumably they have nothing to worry about.

‘‘If they will not release valuation details, and nothing comes of the FMA questions to the ANZ, we will consider further shareholder action.’’

Stubbs also called for ANZ New Zealand’s acting chief executive, Antonia Watson, to be stood down until the FMA finished investigating.

Watson was a director of the ANZ subsidiary that sold the St Heliers mansion to Walsh at the time of the sale.

‘‘Hisco was exited for expense misclassifications, so for the ANZ to go into ‘quiet mode’ on this transaction, and the CEO’S role in it, is hypocrisy,’’ Stubbs said.

‘‘It’s simply not the behaviour required of New Zealand’s most profitable company and biggest bank.’’ – Stuff