(18 November 2008 – Australia) Following the final shareholder approval of the merger between Westpac and St George, the CEO of the St George bank has resigned.St George chief executive officer, Paul Fegan, has decided not to take up a secondary position at the merged bank.
An executive is expected to be appointed to head the St George organisation, which will report directly to Westpac CEO, Gail Kelly.
According to the Australian newspaper, the likely St George candidates are Les Matheson, the head of retail banking who shifted from Citi, Rob Chapman, the former Bank SA executive, and Michael Cameron.
Having served as CEO for just one year, Fegan will receive a A$2 million termination payment because his contract was on an ‘evergreen’ basis, or not set for a specific time.
On top of that, he will receive A$2 million worth of bonuses and award payments calculated over the past year.
Fegan said he considered joining the merged Westpac bank but wanted to remain in the upper management ranks rather than taking a junior position to Kelly.
Despite being forced out of the top position of a big bank, Fegan said that he is pleased with the merger.
Fegan said that, given St George shareholders have overwhelmingly endorsed the merger, it was an appropriate time to make the decision.
Fegan joined St George in July 2002 and has been the bank’s Chief Executive Officer since November 2007 and Managing Director since February 2008.