NAB tired and emotional
A sensational leak has destabilised the bank's leadership. NAB's shareholders are understandably jumpy about the bank's current direction.
It's all anyone's been talking about all week: that National Australia Bank shareholders confronted chairman Phil Chronican last month about the – shall we say – professional demeanour of CEO Andrew Irvine.
It sure feels like a lifetime ago that Irvine's appointment to replace Ross McEwan was being held up as "the gold standard" in succession, with the NAB board saying it had spent two full years watching Irvine before deciding he was the goods.
There has been persistent chatter in the market for months about Irvine's reportedly dissolute style of doing business. It's the most insidious kind of criticism because in the absence of any specific allegation of misconduct, it is virtually impossible to refute.
I've only met Irvine once, a few months ago, and on that occasion, he was comfortably the least intoxicated and obnoxious Big Four bank CEO in the room. Best that's all I say…
At another private event this year, according to a person present, Irvine was asked by guests what he'd do with ANZ Plus were he ANZ's new chief executive Nuno Matos.