bankmecu’s approach to banking adopts systematic and balanced business strategies to satisfy the economic, social and environmental performance expectations of its stakeholders, while protecting, sustaining and enhancing the financial, human and natural resources needed to develop bankmecu into the future. The Board oversees development of bankmecu’s vision, purpose, values and brand objective, which it reviews annually.
Executive
The Chief Executive Officer is charged by the Board with the day-to-day leadership and management of bankmecu. Approval of the Chief Executive Officer’s compensation and benefits is the responsibility of the Board.
The Chief Executive Officer is supported by a senior management team who meet formally fortnightly and oversee the day-to-day management of the organisation. Recommendations to senior management and the Board incorporate economic, social and environmental considerations, as appropriate. bankmecu’s organisational and management structure is shown in Figure 3b.
Remuneration for senior management is determined annually according to an agreed set of performance outcomes including actions identified in bankmecu’s Sustainability Covenant. Levels of remuneration are set in line with comparable roles in the Australian mutual financial services sector.
Figure 3b: Organisational and management structure
Policies and practices
The precautionary approach is embedded in bankmecu’s policies, procedures and the prudential, socially responsible conduct of its business.
bankmecu has Board policies covering:
- Australian Financial Services License Compensation
- Australian Financial Services License Monitoring Supervision and Training Policy
- Anti Money Laundering Policy
- Associations with related entities risk management
- Board Human Resource Management Policy
- Business Continuity
- Capital Adequacy Market Disclosure
- Capital
- Communications
- Complaint and Dispute Resolution
- Compliance
- Credit Card Risk Management
- Credit Integrity
- Dormancy Inactive Unclaimed Monies
- Environment
- Finance and Accounting
- Fit and Proper
- Fraud Control
- Governance
- Large Exposure
- Lending
- Liquidity Contingency
- Liquidity Risk Management
- Market Risk Management
- Merger Demutualisation Takeover
- Operational Risk Management
- Outsourcing
- Privacy
- Remuneration
- Research and Benefits
- Responsible Investment and Lending
- Securitisation
- Stakeholder Engagement
All policies are reviewed annually and updated where necessary. The Board of Directors approves all amendments to Board policy.
Policies are actioned through management guidelines and procedures available to staff on bankmecu’s intranet; and through staff training.
Risk management and compliance
bankmecu’s risk management involves creating an organisation and culture that:
- sees risk as the effect of uncertainty on the achievement of objectives;
- recognises risk awareness and risk management as a vital part of doing business;
- identifies risk in all its forms and takes deliberate measures to mitigate the risks where risk evaluation demonstrates the appropriate application of resources to be warranted; and
- builds risk management into planning and performance measurement decisions.
bankmecu does not expect to eliminate all risks, but to minimise and manage exposure based on a sound risk / reward analysis. It considers the management of sustainability a risk issue.
bankmecu is committed to regulatory compliance. bankmecu believes compliance is represented by:
- Good Business
- Best Practice
- Integration with bankmecu’s values
- Consistency with bankmecu’s corporate positioning around responsible banking
- An investment in bankmecu’s future.
bankmecu’s staff recruitment process seeks commitment to compliance in prospective employees. As a consequence, compliance forms part of every employee’s position description. bankmecu expects compliant performance from all employees. bankmecu requires appropriate decisive action be taken with staff whose performance wilfully contravenes their compliance responsibilities.
bankmecu recognises that effective risk management and robust compliance can only occur if sound compliance and risk management practice is embedded in responsibilities and performance across the organisation.
Risk assessment
Risk management assessments and assessment reviews are conducted annually and as required. Internally, each Department identifies and rates its own potential risks and determines the appropriate actions to be taken to mitigate them. The Board also undertakes an annual risk assessment process separately.
Internal auditors, Ernst and Young, review all bankmecu policies, procedures and practices from a risk management perspective and identify possible action items.
The Audit & Risk Management Committee reviews the results of management and internal audit assessments. Action points arising from these processes are monitored and reported on a quarterly basis to the Audit and Risk Management Committee.
Staff Charter
The bankmecu Staff Charter sets out guidelines to help staff understand what is required of them in order to earn the trust and respect of bankmecu’s stakeholders and to ensure the Company strives to fulfil its vision.
Employment with bankmecu requires standards of professional behaviour from staff that promote and maintain public confidence and trust in the work of bankmecu.
The Staff Charter is intended to set an ethical framework for the decisions, actions and behaviour of bankmecu’s staff. The Charter provides a set of guidelines and rules. It explains the principles covering appropriate conduct in a variety of contexts and outlines the minimum standards of behaviour expected of the Company’s staff.