National Australia Bank chief executive Andrew Thorburn has defended big banks' multi-billion dollar profits as part of a "virtuous circle", while refusing to say how much ex-NSW premier Mike Baird will be paid.
Mr Thorburn hired Mr Baird this week to head the bank's corporate and institutional unit but told a parliamentary committee on Friday that details of his remuneration would only be released - along with that of all executives - in NAB's end-of-year report.
Mr Thorburn - the first of the big four bank CEOs to make his second appearance before the House of Representatives economics committee - also denied suggestions that NAB's first-quarter profit of $1.6 billion was excessive.
NAB made a $6.48 billion profit in the last full financial year.
"It comes out of intense competition and 80 per cent of that profit overall is paid straight back to Australians by way of dividends to themselves or to their super funds," Mr Thorburn said.
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"It's a virtuous and good circle."
Greens MP Adam Bandt told that the appointment of Mr Baird this week reinforced the public's view that the major lenders and main political parties "are all in this together".
But Mr Thorburn defended the hiring of Mr Baird, who quit as NSW premier in January and will join NAB in mid-April, denying it is representative of a too-cozy relationship with government.
"I'm not sure that is true that people do think that: what they want is for us to go through a good process to appoint the right people," Mr Thorburn said.
"Mike Baird for 20 years before going into politics was a banker: he's a corporate and institutional banker; he's got all the capabilities and skills to do an excellent job for us."
