The Fin It’s firing season at the banks. How far will the job losses go?
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Sep 17, 2025 James Thomson, a banking expert from the Australian Financial Review, teams up with Angira Bharadwaj, a savvy reporter on financial services, to discuss the seismic shifts at ANZ. They delve into the sharp job cuts affecting thousands of employees and analyze the bank's recent $240 million settlement with ASIC. Angira reveals how CEO Nuno Matos is making waves with a controversial overhaul, and they ponder whether the banking sector is teetering on the edge of a major transformation as cost pressures mount and new leaders emerge.
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Record Fine Masks Deeper Governance Failures
- ANZ agreed to pay $240 million to settle a range of misconduct issues across markets and retail banking.
- James Thomson says the deal is pragmatic but exposes persistent governance and cultural failures at ANZ.
3,500 Redundancies Driven By Duplication
- ANZ announced 3,500 job cuts as part of a major restructure that affects thousands globally.
- Angira Bharadwaj notes ANZ's workforce duplication from ANZ Classic, ANZ Plus and the Suncorp acquisition fuels the cuts.
Expense Pressure Explains The Wave Of Cuts
- Banks face squeezed margins and rising costs which force CEOs to cut costs rather than grow revenue.
- James Thomson calls the sector 'bloated' after a 20% post-Royal Commission headcount rise and says cost cuts are now the lever for profits.