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A former CEO of National Australia Bank, Franco (Frank) Cicutto, has passed away at the age of 74.
The National Australia Bank board and management team have announced that former CEO and long-serving NAB employee, Cicutto, passed away on Friday (10 January) after an extensive illness.
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Cicutto first joined the National Australia Bank in 1967 as a 17-year-old and worked his way up to eventually become managing director and CEO in 1999.
The Italian-born Australian migrated with his family to Sydney when he was an infant. After being educated in Sydney, he joined NAB as a teller when he was 17.
After studying commerce at the UNSW, he became a career banker.
Over his career, he held a series of senior appointments, including as the CEO of the NAB-owned Clydesdale Bank from 1994–96. While CEO of Clydesdale Bank, he helped establish the UK life insurance business, National Australia Life (sold in 2003).
In 1999, he was named the managing director and CEO of NAB, taking over the role from Don Argus.
He held the position of CEO for five years before resigning in 2004 amid a currency trading scandal.
In what became one of the largest trading scandals in Australian history at the time, it was revealed that traders at the bank had lost $360 million in a pre-tax foreign exchange trading loss.
The scandal – which centred on allegations that traders were falsely inflating the profits made on the trading desk – resulted in the imprisonment of several NAB traders, including the former head of NAB’s foreign currency trading group, for dishonesty, falsifying figures, and engaging in a “calculated and sophisticated fraud” (according to the Judge at the time).
While Cicutto was not implicated in the scandal, he stepped down from his leadership position amid public pressure for accountability, saying at the time he believed the move to be in the best interests of the bank.
In a statement, NAB Group CEO Andrew Irvine acknowledged the loss of the former CEO, saying: “Frank made a significant contribution to NAB over his 37 years with the bank.
“He joined in 1967 as a 17-year-old trainee teller and worked his way right to the top of the business. He progressively served in a range of senior roles, including leading business units and ultimately as CEO from 1999 to 2004.
“We recognise Mr Cicutto’s decades in the Australian banking industry, as a NAB employee and executive.
“We express our deepest sympathy to his family, friends and former colleagues.”
[Related: In Memoriam: Ruth Cresswell, 1968–2023]
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