Dec 18 (Reuters) – Australian lender ANZ Group’s new CEO will forgo his short-term bonus this year, while a significant minority of shareholders opposed the bank’s executive pay report at its 2025 annual general meeting.
Shareholders voted 32.36% against the report, according to proxy votes published by the bank on Thursday, far higher than the 25% required to defeat the resolution.
Paul O’Sullivan, chairman of ANZ, said at the shareholder meet that CEO Nuno Matos has proposed to not receive his short-term variable remuneration this year, “even though contributing issues pre-dated his arrival.”
ANZ, Australia’s No.4 bank, has now received a second “strike” on its remuneration report, with the first strike received last year.
If an Australian company’s remuneration report gets a “no” vote – also known as a “strike” – for two years running, shareholders may call another vote on whether to remove the entire board.
“It is worth noting that while a significant minority of shareholders have voted against the remuneration report, including many who told us we didn’t go far enough, we are currently facing litigation on this matter,” O’Sullivan added.
ANZ is also currently facing accusations from last week of breaching a contract covering former CEO Shayne Elliot’s departure terms when it stripped him of bonuses worth A$13.5 million ($8.92 million).
Shares were volatile in the first few minutes of trading, gaining as much as 0.7% to A$36.345 by 2204 GMT, before reversing course to trade 0.1% lower by 2205 GMT.
($1 = 1.5140 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
