The Finance Sector Union of Australia (FSU) believes AMP boss Craig Meller has made the correct decision to resign following the reprehensible behaviour within AMP revealed to the Royal Commission.
Mr Meller has accepted personal responsibility and accountability for AMP’s flawed culture that put profits before people and his departure underlines a key issue behind problems in the financial services industry.
The FSU believes systemic cultural problems in many of our financial institutions are created by senior management and company boards, not by workers further down the food chain who are under constant pressure to produce ever increasing product sales.
The Royal Commission has revealed how consumers can be caught out when financial services entities link remuneration and bonuses to revenue from sale of products.
The following comments can be attributed to FSU National Secretary Julia Angrisano.
“We’ve long said that culture is created at the top. It’s in the executive ranks where the real change needs to happen – change to remuneration structures and change to systems that value and reward compliance over revenue and profit’.
“Everything we have seen this week shows that the Royal Commission is going hard to identify toxic culture and its causes”.
“Profit driven remuneration structures have rewarded and encouraged behaviours that put customers last. This is because financial institutions have a culture that values profit above compliance”.
“We need change that starts at the top and stops the blame shifting to individuals and front line workers.”
Media contact John Hill 0412197079