A critic of ANZ's board says the expenses controversy around its departing CEO makes the board look incompetent.

David Hisco was dropped from the company yesterday over concerns around personal expenses which were paid with company money.

Hisco's personal use of chauffeur-driven cars and wine storage costs using the bank's money have cost him his $3 million-a-year job.

The chief executive's expenses stretched back nine years and amounted to "tens of thousands of dollars" around the ballpark of $50,000.

Former Bank of New Zealand chair Kerry McDonald says it shouldn't have taken several years, and a review from the Australian arm of the bank, for the board to realise there was a problem with Hisco's spending.

And he says a pattern's forming, after ANZ copped a Reserve Bank censure a month ago, for persistent failures by the company's board.

"There needs to be a significant refresh of ANZ's governance, and this is another nail in the coffin."

He says that something has slipped through the cracks with Hisco, as normally the chairman and chief executive would have an ongoing dialogue that does not appear to have happened here. 

"My view is if the chief executive thinks he should have a chauffeured car, and it's not unreasonable, then he should do that."

McDonald says the spending itself is relatively minor, but the board's failure to pick it up for years is a huge concern.

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"It really raises questions about the systems and processes in place for them to manage their business."

He says that this seems to be a banking wide issue for a while now, and it has been for a while.

McDonald's main concern is that the boards on the banks are not up to task. 

"A bank is a complex thing to run, there's a lot of risks that have to be managed."

He does not think that the fact the fact the banks are profitable is indicative of their success. McDonald does not think that we were as successful during the Global Financial Crisis as we could have been, as we followed Australia's method and "cocked it up". 

"Ever since, things have been relatively benign, but you can't count on that lasting." 

McDonald says that a Royal Commission into banking could turn up information that people were unaware of, and there is a shocking level of complacency in the country about this.