But there have been no denials from the board or from Irvine – indeed the directors have largely gone to ground and there’s been not a peep from chairman Phil Chronican.
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The board is clearly hoping that the storm will blow itself out as long as another shoe doesn’t drop. And there have been no particulars about the aspects of his management style that raised shareholder concerns.
Meanwhile, for the banking community, it provided an opportunity to pick a side.
Unsurprisingly, those who support Irvine reckoned the media pile-on was wildly overdone.
Veteran banking analyst from MST Marquee, Brian Johnson, was the first to publicly express his view in a note to shareholders.
“Having followed Australian banks for many years, I could recall outrageous anecdotes on the management/board of every bank. By comparison NAB’s purported current management crisis is not particularly noteworthy.”
There’s been not a peep from NAB chairman Phil Chronican.Credit: Paul Jeffers
Having been in banking circles for decades, he has a historical perspective.
(That noted, it is also fair to say that behavioral standards have changed over the years, and the size of the sobriety police force has grown significantly.)
His larger observation is that shareholders should play the performance rather than the man – and Irvine hasn’t been in the job for long enough to judge his performance. Johnson believes Irvine has already identified NAB’s two major challenges: its overreliance on mortgage brokers and a lagging deposit franchise.
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There are others lining up behind Johnson, but not all.
Others feel that Irvine’s drinking and management style are a larger concern that the board will need to address.
Where shareholders land on this issue, and how widespread concerns about Irvine might be, will become more evident at the bank’s annual meeting in December. That’s when his salary package – currently $2.5 million plus short-term and long-term incentives, depending on performance – will be voted on.
Unfortunately for Irvine, staying below the parapet won’t be easy. The bank’s third-quarter result will be released next month.
As head of a $115 billion bank, there will always be scrutiny of Irvine and his peers. This comes with the territory.
From a shareholder perspective, what one may consider excessive, another may characterise as within the bounds of “liking a drink”.
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