Macquarie replaces CFO Alex Harvey as regulatory probes intensify

By Adam Haigh and Ambereen Choudhury

 

Macquarie Group Ltd.’s Alex Harvey will step down as chief financial officer, abruptly ending his almost three-decade career despite being seen as a contender to lead the Australian giant that’s beset by regulatory probes.

 

Harvey, 54, will also leave Macquarie’s executive committee at the end of December and retire the following year after handing over to deputy CFO Frank Kwok, according to a statement Thursday from the Sydney-based firm. Harvey has spent the past eight years as CFO. The company didn’t say why he was departing. 

 

The move comes as Chief Executive Officer Shemara Wikramanayake appears before investors, along with Chair Glenn Stevens, at the firm’s annual general meeting in Sydney on Thursday. They are expected to face questions amid scrutiny over senior executive compensation following a string of probes. 

 

 

Shares of Macquarie fell as much as 5 per cent on Thursday morning, the biggest intraday decline in more than three months. The stock is down more than 2 per cent this year.  

 

Harvey is one of multiple internal candidates who were seen as potential successors to the current chief. Wikramanayake has been in the role since 2018.

 

“We still have a very strong bench at multiple levels,” Stevens said on a call with reporters. “We are pretty confident in that group of people” and the board meets with them all regularly, he said.

 

Macquarie also said that first-quarter profit fell from a year earlier. Improved performance in its banking and financial services division, as well as in Macquarie Capital, was overshadowed by lower contributions from asset management and its commodities and global markets division.  

 

Macquarie has among the highest-paid bankers in Asia. Harvey’s annual remuneration increased to A$8.2 million ($5.4 million) in fiscal year 2025 from A$7.9 million a year earlier, according to its annual report. He also had a A$10.36 million loan from Macquarie as of the end of March — one of only two key managers who took out borrowings from the firm. 

 

Harvey joined Macquarie in 1998, and was CEO of Macquarie Group Asia from 2011 to 2014. He took on additional responsibilities in January to be head of people and engagement, on top of his role as head of financial management and CFO.

 

While Macquarie’s remuneration system is strongly supported by shareholders, Stevens said, some shareholders have the view that the board hasn’t adequately reflected risk shortcomings in decisions. 

 

“The board hears your message and will reflect carefully on addressing those concerns,” he added.  

 

Risk culture 

Stevens said the firm continued to work on strengthening its risk culture. The bank has 142 “matters involving conduct or policy breaches that resulted in formal consequences,” according to company presentation slides. That is up from 131 in 2024, it said. 

 

Australia’s markets regulator is suing Macquarie’s local securities business, alleging that it misreported millions of short sales for more than 14 years. 

 

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s case, announced in May, was the fourth time in a little over a year that it brought action against Macquarie. It reignited concern about governance across the firm, whose operations range from investment banking to asset management. 

 

“Where shortcomings are identified, the board holds staff accountable, seeks to incentivize future improvement and reflects on what the issue might tell us about the organization’s culture,” Stevens said in the statement.