It is always hard to pick what will cross the line with a prominent chief executive in the hot house atmosphere of a major corporate announcement.
ANZ boss, Shayne Elliott, is trying to dismantle the Asian legacy of his predecessor with as little fanfare as possible – and on Monday he announced more red ink as ANZ sold off another slab of the business.
Of course, ANZ is not the only bank hocking overseas assets that haven't delivered – Andrew Thorburn's NAB has offloaded dud banks in the UK and US to put more of its capital into Australia, too.
But when this was put to Elliott on Monday, he seemed a little irked by the comparison with that other Melbourne-based member of the Big Four.
"I almost take offence at the idea I'm trying to mirror NAB," he said on a call from Hong Kong.
And as he told his in-house media unit, Blue Notes, it is not about ridding itself of a lousy business: "It is all about focus."
"It is a profitable business. Actually it's a good little business… but the world's changed and the rules of operating have changed. It's become much more complex."
So complex that it will trigger a $265 million net loss for ANZ despite the sale price representing a $110 million premium to book value of the assets.
No Wall St Wolves at Melbourne Cup
Jordan Belfort was the subject of the movie The Wolf of Wall Street. Photo: Louise Kennerley
It brought back a lot of memories for CBD when the corporate watchdog announced on Monday that Ashley Grant Howard – the former Aussie protege of the alleged Wolf of Wall Street, Jordan Belfort – has been permanently banned from providing financial services.
His alleged crimes include using $1.8 million worth of client funds to fund plastic surgery for his girlfriend, and pay back money he owed to Belfort – who bankrupted Howard over this debt.
It coincided with trackside rumours that Belfort – immortalised by Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie, The Wolf of Wall Street – was planning to head down under to attend Tuesday's Melbourne Cup.
Leo & I spent months and months, working tirelessly, to ensure he understood my mannerisms, language and tonality. Devil is in the details. pic.twitter.com/wW1q8sbdWx
— Jordan Belfort (@wolfofwallst) October 6, 2016
Was he looking to drum up business trackside?
On top of his motivational speaking business Belfort has been promoting himself as a consultant to local listed companies needing to raise capital, promising access to his contact list of high net worth individuals.
"We haven't looked after Jordan in many years," said Nick Fordham, Belfort's local agent during his last big seminar series in Australia.
Belfort's web site also suggests it may have just been loose talk, unless he was planning a pretty quick trip.
The "guru of persuasion", as he calls himself, is running one of his seminars in Beverley Hills, Los Angeles this Friday for a select few wealth seekers.
"Your golden ticket comes at a price of $50k USD and is worth every cent of that and then some," Belfort's web site says of the upcoming seminar which is "limited to only 12 serious players worldwide looking to take the success they have created to the next stratosphere."
"This ticket includes a 5-star hotel for your stay, you and your wolf pack will be transported in style each day to and from the mansion, all of your meals are made in house by your own chef, the Friday evening you will be invited to a meet and greet at the home followed by two full days of master class with Mr Belfort."
Cab recharge
Departing Cabcharge chairman Russell Balding. Photo: Daniel Munoz
The departing Cabcharge chairman, Russell Balding, has done an incredible job of rejuvenating the corporate culture at taxi payments provider - just ask him.
"Shareholders – for the first time in seven years – endorsed our progress with a majority exceeding 75 per cent," boasted Balding of his success in heading off an eighth consecutive strike against Cabcharge's remuneration report last year.
Unfortunately he has been a bit too successful when it comes to rejuvenating the board. Poor Donn McMichael wanted to step down after more than 20 years on the board, the company said in a statement to the ASX on Monday, but Cabcharge admitted that this would leave it slightly short of institutional knowledge in the boardroom.
"The board recommends that shareholders vote to re-elect Mr McMichael as after my retirement the average tenure for the remaining non-executive directors will be less than two years," said Balding.
That's quite a change from the days of taxi supremo Reg Kermode whose board had an average tenure of at least 20 years.
Got a tip? ckruger@fairfaxmedia.com.au
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