Remuneration Retraction: ANZ Bonuses Pulled Amid Misconduct Scandal
11 November 2025
Current and former executive members of the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ) have had A$32 million (U$20.9 million) in bonuses pulled following a high-profile bond misconduct scandal in one of the largest cases of Australian company compensation malus.
In September, ANZ admitted to engaging in “unconscionable conduct” and agreed to pay A$240 million in penalties a part of a settlement with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). This included incorrectly reporting its bond trading data to the Australian Government by “overstating the volumes by tens of billions of dollars and to widespread misconduct across products and services impacting nearly 65,000 customers”.
Former CEO Shayne Elliott, who held the position for more than nine years until retiring in May, relinquished A$13.5 million worth of short-term and long-term incentive pay due to the scandal and trading floor culture issues during his spell at the organisation. Meanwhile, ANZ’s former Head of Retail Maile Carnegie and former Head of Strategy Antony Strong have forfeited A$4.4 million and A$1.2 million of bonus shares respectively. Current CEO Nuno Matos voluntarily waived his short-term bonus of almost A$1 million for 2025 in order to “lead by example”.
ANZ also announced plans to controversially cut 3,500 jobs and 1,000 contractor roles in September, with the organisation reportedly stating that the changers were intended to “simplify the bank, strengthen its focus on its priorities and deliver for its customers”. ANZ this week stated that the “restructuring charge” for staff redundancies would cost an estimated A$585 million, up A$25 million from its estimate in February, although the organisation argues that this will “generate cost savings from 2026 onwards”. The bank’s net profit had also fallen from A$6.7 billion to A$5.8 billion in the year to September.
“Malus and clawback provisions are important cornerstones in corporate governance, ensuring that executives remain accountable for actions that compromise integrity, performance or shareholder value,” said Thomas Bolger, Senior Stewardship Analyst at Minerva Analytics. “Although these provisions previously focused on financial misstatements, today’s expectations extend to misconduct, cultural failings, and reputational harm, reflecting broader commitment to ethical and sustainable leadership as argued in the Royal Commission into misconduct in the financial industry”.
He added that the case of ANX underscores this. “After admitting to widespread misconduct and facing a A$240 million penalty, ANZ’s board has moved to forfeit and suspend executive bonuses and long-term incentives,” said Bolger. “This demonstrates the importance in robust malus and clawback frameworks in strengthening accountability, risk culture and protecting long-term shareholder interests.”
The A$240 million agreed between ANZ and ASIC was in relation to four separate proceedings spanning misconduct across ANZ’s Institutional and Retail divisions. These four matters included “acting unconscionably” in its dealings with the Australian Government whilst managing a A$14 billion bond deal and incorrectly reported its bond trading data to the Australian Government by overstating the volumes by tens of billions of dollars over almost two years. It also found that ANZ had made “false and misleading” statements about its savings interest rates and failing to pay the promised interest rate to tens of thousands of customers.
“Time and time again ANZ betrayed the trust of Australians,” said Joe Longo, Chair of ASIC. “The total penalties across these matters are the largest announced by ASIC against one entity and reflect the seriousness and number of breaches of law, the vulnerable position that ANZ put its customers in and the repeated failures to rectify crucial issues. Banks must have the trust of customers and government. This outcome shows an unacceptable disregard for that trust that is critical to the banking system.”
The proposed penalties comprise A$125 million for the institutional and markets matters, including a record A$80 million penalty for unconscionable conduct, and A$115 million in total penalties for the three retail matters. ANZ is also due to pay a further A$31 million in associated costs, bringing the potential total cost of the misconduct to A$271 million.
“The failings outlined are simply not good enough and they reinforce the case for change,” said Nuno Matos, CEO at ANZ, when the agreement with ASIC was announced. “It is my expectation that we see measurable improvements across the bank to better protect and care for our customers and to create a more sustainable business.”
There have been some high-profile clawback and malus cases in recent years. In 2023, oil and gas giant BP applied clawback and/or forfeiture of more than £32 million (U$42.1 million) from former CEO Bernard Looney in 2023 due to misconduct after it was determined that he misled the board about personal relationships. That same year, Barclays Remuneration Committee suspended all deferred bonuses and LTIP awards to former CEO Jes Staley’s pending regulatory investigation, potentially forfeiting awards worth £17.8 million, due to concerns about lying over his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
McDonald’s reclaimed U$105 million from former CEO Steve Easterbrook following revelations of misconduct due to inappropriate personal relationships with employees in 2019, while in 2017 Wells Fargo recovered U$41 million from former CEO John Stumpf following a fake accounts scandal uncovered in 2016.
ANZ’s 2025 AGM is due to take place on 18 December. Although Minerva Analytics is yet to receive its notice of meeting, a vote to adopt the remuneration report at its 2024 AGM saw significant shareholder dissent of more than 38%, which could be matched or surpassed this year. Additionally, ANZ will face shareholder proposals on its approach to financed deforestation and net zero commitments according to filings with the Australian Securities Exchange.
Remuneration is a key focus for shareholders in Australia, as reported by Minerva Analytics. At its AGM on 29 October, building products manufacturer James Hardie saw six management resolutions defeated by shareholders including approving the remuneration report to year end 31 March 2025, one grant of long-term incentive plan awards to the CEO and an increase to non-executive director pay. The high shareholder dissent on these resolutions was largely due to James Hardie’s polarising acquisition of sustainable outdoor living products producer Azek.
Other recent notable remuneration voting results during the 2025 proxy season include sustainable packaging solutions provider Orara Ltd receiving 48.4% dissent on its remuneration report at its 15 October AGM and Cleanaway Waste Management Ltd seeing 40.9% dissent on its remuneration report at its AGM on 21 October.
Amendments to companies clawback policies have also been prevalent this year, as highlighted by Minerva Analytics’ Shareholder Proposal Voting Trends Report 2025 published in September. The briefing showcased ten shareholder proposals on clawbacks during the first five months of this year, accounting for more than 17% of remuneration-related resolutions from investors during this period.
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Last Updated: 11 November 2025