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A high-profile chartered accountant will temporarily take the reins at AMP, in a week at the royal commission which saw the second-tier bank admit to giving false and misleading statements to ASIC.
CA appointed to lead AMP as royal commission scandal unfolds
20 April 2018
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2 minute read
Mike Wilkins, who has been a non-executive director on the AMP board since 2016, will take over immediately from the outgoing leader Craig Meller. He is also a fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) and a fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Mr Meller was originally going to step down at the end of the year, but he and the board brought this forward after it was revealed AMP misled the corporate regulator on his watch.
“I am personally devastated by the issues which have been raised publicly this week, particularly by the impact they have had on our customers, employees, planners and shareholders. This is not the AMP I know and these are not the actions our customers should expect from the company,” Mr Meller said.
“I do not condone them or the misleading statements made to ASIC. However, as they occurred during my tenure as CEO, I believe that stepping down as CEO is an appropriate measure to begin the work that needs to be done to restore public and regulatory trust in AMP,” he said.
AMP also announced a series of reviews into its governance and and culture.
Earlier this week, the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry heard that AMP has provided at least 20 false and misleading statements to ASIC in various breach reports over seven years.
Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison has since warned jail time is on the cards in more serious cases of deception.
“What has occurred here and what has been admitted to in the royal commission by AMP is deeply disturbing,” Mr Morrison said in a statement issued yesterday.
“They have said that they basically charged people for services they didn't provide and they have admitted to statements that were misleading to ASIC and to their own customers, and this is deeply distressing.
“This type of behaviour can attract penalties which include gaol time. That's how serious these things are.”
