ANZ Bank reveals new 'deliberate, simple' corporate values for employees
ANZ Bank will be operating under a new cultural framework as CEO Nuno Matos takes out "respect" from the company's values less than a year after being appointed in the Big Four bank's top spot.
Matos sent out an internal memo to the bank's employees titled "Why our culture needs to evolve," where the CEO outlined four new values that the bank's 40,000-strong workforce are expected to uphold.
"They will guide how we act, make decisions, manage risk, and how we show up for our customers – and each other – every day," Matos told employees in the memo.
The new values, as reported by The Australian, overlap with the bank's previous five corporate values, but notably eliminates one: "respect."
"Respect," in ANZ Bank's values, highlights difference and encourages employees "to have a voice, think and act with consideration for customers, community, and the environment."
ANZ confirmed the memo and the new set of corporate values in a statement to HRD. According to the Big Four bank, Matos has spoken about resetting the bank's culture when he announced the ANZ 2030 strategy in October 2025.
"The new company values launched today reflect this focus on resetting the bank's culture – and make it easier for people to understand what we expect of them and what to prioritise and focus on," a spokesperson from the bank told HRD.
"This is a very clear cultural reset Nuno and ANZ's refreshed Executive Committee is driving. Changing the bank's culture is a key enabler of the ANZ 2030 strategy as we first deliver the immediate priorities (new leadership, Suncorp Bank integration, ANZ Plus front end, simplification, non-financial risk) and then accelerate growth."
ANZ's new corporate values
Matos's new set of corporate values comes nearly a year after he started as CEO in May 2025. According to the memo, the new values were developed after feedback revealed that ANZ needed to make it easier for employees to understand their culture and the behaviours expected of them.
The first value is "We put customers first," where employees are encouraged to listen to and deliver what customers want, and avoid overcomplicating matters.
"We need to listen to what they want and deliver, not over-complicate things. We need to keep things clear and simple and act early – and with urgency – if something could cause harm," Matos said in the memo.
The second value encourages employees to "deliver with excellence" by setting high standards and delivering on commitments.
"We learn from the external world, from the best in class. We can only win if customers choose us, so we need to deliver with pace and quality – on time, with no short cuts," Matos said.
The third value tells employees to "own the outcome" by taking accountability.
"Taking responsibility from start to finish, delivering on commitments, and raising risks early," Matos said.
The final value states that "We work as one," where Matos frames teamwork as bringing the "best" ANZ employees together.
"Real collaboration means bringing the right people - not everyone - into the room to make decisions. We challenge, decide, then act, together," he said.
Matos described the four new values as "deliberate and simple," solidifying the goal he announced at the ANZ 2030 strategy on resetting the bank's culture to focus on a "culture of customers, performance, and talent."
The CEO has been very clear in previous speeches that the "bank must change to better serve our customers."
"This work is very much underway," he also said in November, as the bank took accountability for its failures under the APRA CPS 511 regulation.
"We have appointed the right leadership to reshape the bank, and I personally oversee our actions on non-financial risk to ensure progress, drive accountability, and remove roadblocks."
