ANZ’s CEO has given up over $3 million of a long-term bonus after shareholders indicated their displeasure with regulatory issues at the bank.
The CEO of one of Australia’s big four banks withdrew a vote on the performance bonus worth $3.2 million, which needed shareholder approval to be executed, after a preliminary review showed it would be approved on the narrowest of margins.
Shayne Elliott, due to exit as CEO in mid-2025 after nine years in the role, was awarded the long-term bonus previously just as the bank faced an Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) probe into suspected misconduct in a 2023 government bond issue.
Shareholder adviser groups indicated they would support the bonus by a narrow margin of 50.1 per cent, according to a tally of proxy votes published by the bank ahead of its annual meeting on Thursday, but the bank withdrew the resolution at Mr Elliott’s request, ANZ chairman Paul O’Sullivan said.
“In recognition of shareholders’ views, and to limit the impact on the bank, Shayne has decided to forfeit this year’s long-term variable remuneration,” Mr O’Sullivan told the meeting in Melbourne, to applause.
Mr Elliott, the longest-serving leader of a top Australian bank, did not mention his pay in prepared comments at the meeting.
His total take-home pay in 2023 was just over $4.5 million, according to ANZ’s annual remuneration report.
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When a shareholder asked about the bond issuance investigation, Mr O’Sullivan replied the bank had found no indication of intentional wrongdoing.
Nearly two in five shareholders also voted against the company’s executive remuneration report, which is far higher than the 25 per cent margin needed to defeat a resolution.
The vote is non-binding, but if there is a second “strike” at the next AGM, investors can move to vote on a spill motion on the company’s board and directors.
“We remain unconvinced that the remuneration consequences applied to executives in 2024 have been sufficiently punitive given the scale of the issues the company has faced,” said one proxy firm, CGI Glass Lewis.
Mr Elliott is being replaced by former HSBC executive Nuno Matos, who will likely face two immediate challenges after starting: leading the bank’s response to the financial watchdog’s investigation and its own review of non-financial risk plus integrating ANZ’s $4.9 billion purchase in 2024 of the bank assets of insurer Suncorp.
Another regulator, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), has also increased the amount of cash ANZ must keep on hand, citing concerns about the company’s non-financial risk management.
ANZ shares were down 2.5 per cent on Thursday, in line with other large lenders and the broader Australian market, which was down after the US Federal Reserve reduced the number of interest rate cuts it expected in 2025.
Reuters
