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The Commonwealth Bank's board was at the mercy of its shareholders during its annual general meeting on Thursday.
Its chairman Catherine Livingstone began by apologising to shareholders for the bank's "reputation damage" following its alleged breaches of anti-money laundering laws.
"It is clear that the bank was deficient in aspects of its compliance with AUSTRAC's regulations," she said.
"And it is equally clear that this has damaged our reputation with customers, shareholders, regulators and government.
"As chairman, and on behalf of the board, I apologise sincerely for this deficiency and its consequence."
CBA board spill averted
Ms Livingstone and six other board members also managed to keep their jobs, and avoid a board spill.
That spill would have been triggered if 25 per cent or more of shareholders in the room voted for a "second strike" against CBA's executive remuneration report.
If that had occurred, the seven board members would need to seek re-election at a "spill meeting" to keep their jobs.
"If we had a spill, individual directors would form the view that they would not stand, and certainly I would not have stood for re-election," Ms Livingstone said.
The "first strike" happened at last year's AGM, when almost 51 per cent of shareholders voted against the bank's executive remuneration proposals.
In particular, they were annoyed at the bank's proposal to implement "soft" unquantifiable targets — which would have resulted in huge bonuses for CBA's chief executive Ian Narev.
Since then, the bank has been besieged by legal action — most notably, being forced to defend itself in the Federal Court against AUSTRAC's money-laundering allegations.
CBA is also under investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) for alleged breaches of the Corporations Act.
In addition, the bank has also been sued in a shareholder class action for alleged breaches of its continuous disclosure obligations.
As a result, CBA decided to cut its executive bonuses and scrap ATM fees as it faces a protracted battle to restore its reputation.
The hunt for its next CEO
The bank's current CEO Ian Narev faced heavy criticism, following the AUSTRAC scandal, which prompted his decision to retire by July next year.
During his tenure, the bank faced a financial planning scandal, in which its customers lost millions of dollars.
He was also in charge when CommInsure was exposed for refusing to pay out legitimate claims for people with terminal illnesses.
"A global search for Ian's replacement is well advanced," Ms Livingstone said.
"We're considering internal candidates and external candidates from Australia and offshore."
CBA shares closed 0.3 per cent higher at $80.82.
Topics: business-economics-and-finance, company-news, banking, australia
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