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New AMP statement looks to absolve Clayton Utz
New comments from AMP today assert that advice received by Clayton Utz was indeed independent and not subject to influence, following suggestions to the contrary at the banking royal commission.
Jerome Doraisamy
Earlier today, the embattled financial services company released a statement saying the report commissioned with the national firm, focused on the fee for no service issue, was “uncompromisingly direct” in its findings.
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Those findings, regarding current and former AMP employees and the systems, governance, culture and process surrounding AMP’s advice, came into question recently at the The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, at which the independence of the report came under scrutiny.
Among the assertions made by the company in today’s statement was the claim that there was “no evidence that Clayton Utz made any changes to the report that they did not agree with or that they did not stand behind the report”.
In addition, AMP claimed that the extent of interaction with Clayton Utz was “overstated” in the course of the royal commission’s hearing.
“Irrespective of the criticism surrounding the production of the report, it was an important and powerful catalyst for the actions AMP has taken and is taking to address the challenges in the advice business,” the statement said.
Clayton Utz was quick to respond to the statement with comments of its own, with chief executive Rob Cutler noting the firm’s position was always that its investigation into AMP’s advice business was at the instruction of the AMP board, and that the firm stood by the report’s “robust” findings.
It was “disappointing”, he said, that Clayton Utz was suggested to have been complicit in the misleading of ASIC.
“As AMP states, the report is an uncompromisingly direct and comprehensive 87-page review of the conduct of the advice business that could have only been of assistance to ASIC in its investigation, and to Counsel Assisting in preparing cross-examination,” he said.
“The report we prepared was for the AMP board and was the result of an extensive investigation which in fact identified much of the conduct referred to by the Commission.”
At no stage were the findings compromised, he declared, and the investigation was undertaken in accordance with terms of reference set by AMP.
“This included that it was to be independent of the advice business and for the purpose of providing legal advice to the AMP board,” he continued.
“The report was not prepared for, commissioned by, or addressed to, ASIC, and we did not provide it to them.”
Mr Cutler’s declarations followed his comments from almost a fortnight ago, at which time he similarly rejected claims that the firm’s report lacked independence.
Elsewhere, Lawyers Weekly sister title InvestorDaily today reported that AMP has named former Commonwealth Bank of Australia chief executive David Murray as its new chair.
Mr Murray is a former CEO of Commonwealth Bank of Australia and also chaired the Financial Systems Inquiry, which examined potential reforms to the sector.
