ANZ NZ Director Attestation Review Finds Marked Improvement In Governance

A review of ANZ New Zealand’s (ANZ) Directors Attestation Framework has found that ANZ has taken appropriate steps to remedy concerns raised in an independent report.

In June 2019 the Reserve Bank of New Zealand – Te Pūtea Matua requested ANZ commission and publish a summary report into ANZ’s Director Attestation and Assurance framework. The report was requested under section 95 (s95) of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 1989.

To ensure that ANZ met all of the report’s recommendations, the Reserve Bank issued a further s95 notice requiring independent confirmation that ANZ implemented all of the report’s recommendations.

This report (the review) has been published today and found that ANZ has invested heavily in their director attestation and remediation programme. The review was prepared by Deloitte and found that ANZ has taken appropriate steps to address the recommendations from the 2019 s95 report. The review noted that there has been a marked uplift in the overall capabilities within ANZ in respect to the attestation process, with heightened focus and scrutiny from management, executives and ANZ’s board.

Deputy Governor and General Manager of Financial Stability Christian Hawkesby says the review is a positive result and shows the value of the s95 process.

“We expect all of the entities we regulate to have robust and well-established governance processes in place. As we have demonstrated, we will use statutory powers to ensure that is the case,” Mr Hawkesby says.

“The review noted that a level of complacency in relation to the execution of some aspects of the directors attestation framework in 2019 is no more. There has been a marked emphasis on adopting a ‘show me, don’t tell me’ governance approach at ANZ that aligns with our own strengthened supervisory policy.”

The review report noted that there were elements of the framework still in the process of being embedded. However, the key changes recommended in the 2019 Director Attestation s95 have been appropriately addressed.

More information

• ANZ NZ Directors Attestation Framework and Assurance Review summary report (PDF 361KB)
• ANZ capital requirements s95 report completed, April 2020
• Reserve Bank requires improvements to ANZ New Zealand’s director attestation processes, December 2019
• Reserve Bank requests assurance reports of ANZ New Zealand, June 2019
• Reserve Bank and FMA cross-sector thematic review on governance

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