Business Insider: Mike Tod lines up at CBA, BNZ boss Angela Mentis stumbles, ANZ dodges settlement

Mike Tod.

THE INSIDER

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Just a month after joining Aussie banking giant CBA, Kiwi Mike Tod has already been tipped as a strong contender to become the bank's new head of corporate affairs.

The former Air NZ executive has just lost his new boss, Priscilla Brown, who is finishing up at the end of May and heading back to the US.

That's led to speculation Tod could take over her role as group executive of marketing and corporate affairs, although the Sydney Morning Herald noted he is expected to face competition from long-standing CBA executive and current chief marketing officer Monique Macleod.

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Should Tod get the nod, he'd end up being the boss of Marie Hosking, head of corporate affairs at CBA's New Zealand subsidiary ASB and who previously worked alongside Tod at Air New Zealand.

Tod was among the slew of execs to leave the airline since Covid destroyed 99 per cent of its revenue. Former chief financial officer Jeff McDowall has just joined his old mate Cam Wallace at MediaWorks.

Bubble trouble

The opening of the transtasman bubble has been a mixed blessing for one top chief executive.

Angela Mentis, chief executive of the Bank of New Zealand and an Australian, will now able to visit family again without having to go through quarantine (provided there aren't any more outbreaks).

BNZ chief executive Angela Mentis. Photo/ Jason Oxenham

But on a recent trip back to Sydney she had an accident which has left her temporarily marooned in Australia while she recovers.

"I am here in Sydney. I've had a little accident which has made me a little immobile but as soon as I can get back on my feet I will be back as soon as possible," she told The Insider this week after delivering the bank's half year result.

"I have learned a good lesson and that's not to multi-task on a step ladder." Mentis has a broken ankle and a ripped Achilles tendon but says she is on the mend.

"I'm repairing well because I am determined to be back as soon as possible."

Despite the accident she is upbeat about the bubble opening. "I'm delighted with the transtasman bubble."

Mentis, who took over as CEO of the BNZ in 2018, was also trapped in Australia when New Zealand went into its first major lockdown in March last year.

She was home visiting family when she got locked out. She then ran the bank from Australia for four months before returning to New Zealand in July.

Lucky Escape

ANZ must have been breathing a sigh of relief this week when its former subsidiary UDC Finance reached a settlement with the Commerce Commission after it was found to be charging unreasonable fees.

ANZ sold UDC to Shinsei Bank in June last year for $762 million with the official transfer not happening until September. UDC's offending occurred between June 2015 and September 2016 for dishonour fees and between June 2015 and February 2021 in relation to late payment fees.

The finance company has to pay back $37 to each borrower that was charged a $45 dishonour fee during the specified timeframe and a full refund of the late payment fee for those who paid their arrears within seven days of being charged the fee and the difference between the late payment fee and the amount payable had UDC charged $14 for every 14 days the borrower was in arrears for all remaining borrowers.

While the total number of borrowers affected has not been revealed nor the total settlement amount a Commerce Commission spokeswoman said information provided to the commission by UDC would suggest that approximately 5000 late payment fees and approximately 21,000 dishonour fees were charged by the company each year.

A UDC spokesman said it was unable to provide details on how many customers were affected or how much its total payment would be but said it would be contacting all affected customers this month to confirm the refund they are due.