ANZ Group’s former CEO Shayne Elliott on Friday accused the bank of breaching a contract covering his departure terms when it stripped him of bonuses worth A$13.5 million ($9 million) as he began legal action against the Australian lender. ANZ said it would defend a case brought by Elliott in the New South Wales Supreme Court against the bank relating to his remuneration outcomes in the 2025 financial year.
The ANZ board cut Elliott’s and other executives’ bonuses after the bank agreed to pay a A$240 million civil penalty to regulators for systemic failures ranging from acting “unconscionably” in a government bond deal to charging dead customers. Elliott said he had offered to forgo his 2024 bonus and incentive payments. He said he would seek a New South Wales Supreme Court declaration that ANZ had breached the contract he had with the bank over his leaving terms.
Other former and current executives also endured pay and bonus eliminations in sweeping cuts worth about A$32 million, according to ANZ’s annual report. ANZ’s board had said a zero bonus for Elliott was “appropriate for 2025 having regard to the overall performance of the Group, and his accountability as the former CEO for the various non-financial risk matters”. A recent report from a proxy advisory firm showed Elliott still retained about A$7.9 million worth of long-term incentive pay after the cuts had been made.
