More than half of the FMA's 241 staff now earn over $100k. 123rf
More than half of the FMA's 241 staff now earn over $100k. 123rf
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Many businesses have cut staff pay and laid-off workers this year, but one government department has had a bumper rise in the number of its staff earning more than $100k.
The annual report forNew Zealand's financial regulator, the Financial Markets Authority, released this week shows the number of staff earning more than $100,000 has increased from 92 to 122 - a jump of 33 per cent - in the year to June 30.
That means more than half of the FMA's 241 staff now earn over $100k.
An FMA spokesman says the report covered July 2019 to June 2020 and reflected salary increases that were approved in the July 2019 pay review before Covid-19.
"The FMA is a growing organisation and to attract quality staff we must pay market competitive salaries. We are competing for employees with organisations such as well-resourced banks and law firms. A portion of the increase in employees earning over $100,000 was due to increases in staff numbers. As an indication, in the past financial year, total employees increased by 13 per cent."
The spokesman said as a Crown entity, the FMA was highly conscious of its expenditure and followed the Public Services Commission guidance on pay restraint across the public sector for the July 2020 pay review.
"The FMA froze salaries for all staff for the round (apart from a small budget pool to address issues of lower-paid staff and gender equity, which followed the PSC guidance)."
He also pointed to a report on the FMA by PwC, which found the regulator's remuneration levels did not match the private market at some career levels, and that people in the financial services industry were in great demand.
The annual report notes that FMA chief executive Rob Everett took a voluntary pay cut of 20 per cent for six months from June 1, 2020 as well as a further voluntary reduction in performance pay for the 2019/20 financial year.
FMA chief executive Rob Everett
It doesn't reveal his exact remuneration but the top earner was on between $630,001 and $640,000 in the year to June 2019 and that fell to between $590,001 and $600,000 for the year to June 2020.
The FMA spokesman said Everett's remuneration involved a salary as well as a variable performance payment, which was based on him achieving a number of targets. He said the reduction reflected the chief executive's decision to volunteer a 20 per cent cut in salary for six months as well as a 10 per cent cut in the performance payment he was due, based on the previous year's performance.
"The chief executive volunteered these remuneration cuts, which went beyond the guidance provided by the Public Service Commission, and the board gratefully accepted his offer."
FMA board chair Mark Todd has also taken a 20 per cent pay cut from July 9, 2020 to January 6, 2021 and other board members will have a 10 per cent cut.
The report also contains some never-before-reported data including the fact that 7 per cent of staff at the FMA have mental health issues and 2 per cent were hearing or vision impaired.
Across the FMA, 59 per cent of its workforce are women but that shrinks to 44 per cent at tier 2. It also shows Just 4 per cent of its workers were Māori and 2 per cent Pasifika. That compares to 16.5 per cent and 8.1 per cent respectively of the population as of the 2018 census.
It has more people from Europe (20 per cent) and other places (8 per cent) than Māori and Pasifika staff. That is especially telling when more than 70 per cent of the organisation is now Auckland-based, where the Māori and Pasifika population is even higher than nationally.
It notes in the report that its diversity and inclusion working group has "concentrated on the refresh of the committee's overall governance, terms of reference, strategy and work programme for the next three years.
"Our approach to D&I will be data-driven, goal-focused and embedded in our practices. We hosted a number of cultural celebrations throughout the year, and we remain committed to ensuring all employees have equal access to employment opportunities and have the chance to perform and progress to their full potential."
Who will inherit Westpac NZ crown?
There has been a change of leadership at all of the major banks in recent years bar Westpac sparking some talk about when current New Zealand chief executive David McLean may choose to move on or retire.
Westpac CEO David McLean with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Photo / Greg Bowker
Chief executives typically have a tenure of between five and seven years, although some obviously stay for much less time and others hang on for much longer.
The 62-year-old McLean has been Westpac NZ CEO since February 2015. McLean was pulled back to New Zealand for the role from a plum position as Westpac Group's New York branch managing director.
He was brought in initially to cover for predecessor Peter Clare, who resigned to recuperate from heart surgery but then made it permanent, breaking Westpac's previous pattern of choosing a NZ CEO from within its Aussie ranks.
McLean, a proud Kiwi, has been a steady hand on the tiller for Westpac during a time of immense pressure in the banking sector amid Australia's Royal Commission into misconduct in financial services and the subsequent focus on the conduct and culture of the banks by New Zealand regulators.
Those seen as most likely to take over from McLean are former National MP Simon Power, who heads the bank's institutional and business banking arm, and Karen Silk, a Westpac lifer whose title is GM of its experience hub but who was previously GM of its commercial, corporate and institutional bank.
Former National MP Simon Power is seen as a likely candidate to take over from David McLean at Westpac. Photo / Dean Purcell
One barrier to Power getting the job will be his political leanings and the left-leaning government. Left-leaning McLean is a far better fit with the Labour-led Government.
But as everyone knows, governments eventually change.
