Macquarie Sacked 288 Staff Over Eight Years

Macquarie Group is taking a tougher stance on corporate misconduct, terminating 288 employees over the past eight years for inappropriate behaviour as part of efforts to tighten risk management and regain regulatory confidence.

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Pick & Scroll News
May 11, 2025

Macquarie Group is taking a tougher stance on corporate misconduct, terminating 288 employees over the past eight years for inappropriate behaviour as part of efforts to tighten risk management and regain regulatory confidence. While the $77 billion investment bank wants to improve oversight, its reputation continues to be tested by global compliance breaches.


This rare transparency comes from Macquarie’s “consequence management outcomes” section in its annual report, one of the few of its kind in Australia's corporate sector. The bank began reporting employee misconduct in 2018, and as of this year, employs roughly 20,600 people, 6,000 more than when it first began disclosures. Despite growing headcount, the bank posted a record number of dismissals in 2025, driven by breaches ranging from poor risk oversight to inappropriate conduct.


In the 2025 financial year alone, Macquarie conducted 142 investigations and dismissed 53 employees, issuing 89 formal warnings. Of those warned, 22 left voluntarily, while most of the rest faced bonus cuts, many seeing their profit share slashed by around 40%. Macquarie insists these cases were isolated and not signs of systemic misconduct, but regulators are taking a closer look.


The Australian Securities and Investments Commission recently intensified scrutiny, adding licence conditions after uncovering weaknesses in Macquarie's derivatives division, including the misreporting of more than 375,000 transactions. Globally, Macquarie has also faced penalties from the US and UK, including a $117 million SEC fine and a £25.2 million FCA fine for past trade misreporting incidents.


While executive leadership maintains the bank’s compliance systems are adequate, regulators aren’t convinced. Macquarie’s board has responded by trimming executive compensation, its CEO received $1.2 million less this year, earning $24 million, yet the company continues operating under the pressure of more than 200 global regulators as it works to repair trust.