AMP's epic fail - The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry

The departure of AMP Board Chair, Catherine Brenner and Corporate Counsel, Brian Salter following the earlier resignation of Chief Executive Officer,Craig Meller should be seen as just the beginning of an essential overhaul of this once trusted company. AMP has seriously breached legal obligations and corporate governance principles and requirements. 

Essentially AMP has been found by the Royal Commission to have committed two serious categories of misconduct, potentially criminal in intent: the first being the deliberate effort to blindside the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) on at least 20 separate occasion regarding the theft of client funds. The second being the altering of an alleged independent report by Clayton Utz to ASIC with 25 different versions being 'workshopped' by AMP including the participation of the Board Chair.  

In its own corporate governance statement, AMP states its goal is -

"Acting ethically and responsibly AMP wants to create a better tomorrow for our customers, employees, business partners, communities and shareholders. Everything we do, every decision we make has an impact, not only on the long-term success of our business but also on the lives of our customers. We are committed to acting with professionalism, honesty and integrity so all our stakeholders know they can trust us to do the right thing". 

How hollow this statement now reads.

In terms of its own Code of Conduct, what AMP expects of their staff  -

"We trust you will act in the best interests of AMP, its customers, business partners and shareholders AMP is proud of its reputation for delivering on its commitments and relies on your commitment to speak up. We put adherence to these principles above financial gain.

You will not be criticised or penalised for any loss of business resulting from adhering to these principles and other mandatory policies and instructions. We all make mistakes but at AMP we act quickly to rectify errors and learn from our mistakes".

Was this Code also applicable to AMP's Board of Directors ? 

With a market capitalisation of $14.9B, there is a justified public expectation that AMP should set a high bar for corporate governance.