Former ANZ CEO sues over axed $9mn bonus

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The former chief executive of ANZ has sued the Australian bank after it stripped him of millions of dollars in bonuses over a series of scandals during his tenure.

Shayne Elliott ran ANZ for almost a decade before he was replaced by former HSBC executive Nuno Matos in May. His departure followed complaints of bond rigging and behavioural issues on the trading floor. The bank agreed a A$240mn ($160mn) penalty with regulators in September.

Last month, ANZ cancelled more than A$30mn in bonuses for executives. Elliott was the worst hit, with A$13.5mn worth of shares covering 2024 and 2025 clawed back after the bank’s remuneration committee deemed him to be “ultimately accountable” for the issues that had hurt its reputation and financial performance.

Elliott has hit back by filing a suit in the Supreme Court of New South Wales this week, claiming ANZ had breached its contract with him.

The former banker said in a statement that he had “no alternative” and was fully committed to seeing the process through.

“The bank and I had a clear, unambiguous agreement about the terms of my departure,” he said. “As you would expect, having entered into a contract, my expectation is that those terms would be honoured.” 

Elliott said he accepted the need for accountability and that he had voluntarily proposed to the board that he forgo some of his incentives.

ANZ said in a statement that none of its Australia-based executives received short-term bonuses for 2025 and that under rules set by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, it was required to link executive pay to performance and risk outcomes, including when it released unvested equity.

Paul O’Sullivan, chair of ANZ, said in a statement: “The Board has been considered and very deliberate in its assessment of remuneration outcomes. We are confident in our position and we will defend this matter vigorously.”

ANZ is holding its annual meeting in Melbourne next week, with pay policies already under scrutiny despite the cancelled bonuses.

Proxy advisory groups have recommended shareholders vote against remuneration resolutions on the basis that the cuts to incentives, including to Elliott’s pay, could have been even deeper given the scale of the bank’s issues.

A banking industry veteran said he was not surprised that Elliott had opted to challenge the decision in court as a “matter of principle” and that the case would pile further pressure on ANZ’s chair at the annual meeting given the bonuses and praise dished out to Elliott in the past.