ANZ's former boss David Hisco clocked up nearly $450k a year in expenses
Wednesday, 19 June 2019
ANALYSIS: David Hisco's bill for the perks of the top job at ANZ New Zealand was an extraordinary A$464,599 last year, but that's the tip of the iceberg.
His 'non monetary benefits,' have averaged A$418,855 (NZ$441,116) a year, for a total of $3.35 million across his eight full financial years in ANZ New Zealand's top job. All figures are additional to Hisco's multi-million-dollar salary.
Over that time, Hisco's expenses have outstripped his executive colleagues by an extraordinary measure.
They also far exceed what his contemporaries received in similar positions at other banks.
**READ MORE:
* ANZ completed probe into Hisco's expenses before staff were told of sick leave
* ANZ is building a case for stronger bank regulation
* Profits, strikes, settlements and huge paypackets: The ANZ career of David Hisco
* ANZ's David Hisco debacle shows New Zealand needs a banking Royal Commission now**
We now know that Hisco's bill included the cost of wine cellaring and chauffeur-driven cars, that were misrepresented as business expenses.
Early this year that information came to light, Australian parent company ANZ Banking Group says, through an internal review of executive expenses.
ANZ NZ chairman Sir John Key announced Hisco's departure on Monday, saying the characterisation of expenses fell short of the standard required.
Key didn't reference the glaringly large sums Hisco has expensed. And ANZ isn't interested in explaining how that bill climbed so much higher than those of other bank executives at head office. Calls to ANZ spokespeople were unanswered.
That leaves a A$3 million dollar question: what else did Hisco expense?
The numbers are certainly exceptional. In 2018, Shayne Elliott, chief executive of ANZ Banking Group expensed benefits of A$17,321; CFO Michelle Jablko's benefits came to A$15,341. In fact, the second highest billing for expenses for an ANZ executive that year (retiring chief risk officer Nigel Williams) came to A$52,472, just 11 per cent of Hisco's total.
Neither is 2018 anomalous. In every year since his posting to the top NZ job, bar 2015, Hisco's non monetary benefits top the list of ANZ executives by an order of magnitude.
Equally, Hisco's spending is glaringly high compared to peers at competitor banks. Westpac NZ boss David McLean moved from New York to take-up his Auckland-based post in 2015, his non monetary benefits were A$75,392 in that year, and A$33,753 in 2016.
Starting in 2011 and continuing through 2016, Hisco's expenses included costs related to his assignment to New Zealand, according to footnotes in the company's annual report.
Do you know more? Email newstips@stuff.co.nz
Hisco became chief executive in late 2010. In 2011 when his non monetary benefit was A$357,283, the company's annual report cites expenses such as flights, housing assistance and taxation services. In subsequent years, however, the citation becomes more vague, mentioning only expenses relating to the New Zealand relocation.
Even after Hisco and his wife, Deborah Walsh, bought a ground floor apartment in the Auckland suburb of Kohimarama in 2014 for NZ$1.7m, relocation was cited for his company expenses (they owned the apartment it until 2016).
In 2017 and 2018, when relocation was no longer cited, expenses remained remarkable at over A$400,000 each year.
John McGill, chief executive of Strategic Pay, an Auckland consultancy specialising in executive compensation, described the number as 'surprisingly large'.
'Relocation expenses can often be generous. But they're for relocation, that's a one off. By any definition that's a very large number, car parking just won't get them there,' he said.