In a powerful rebuke to its leadership, shareholders of the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) have voted down the bank's executive pay report for a second consecutive year. The vote came during a tense annual general meeting in Sydney, where the board faced intense scrutiny over a series of damaging regulatory breaches and significant staff reductions.
A Year of Scandal and Record Penalties
The backdrop to the shareholder revolt is a tumultuous year for the banking giant. ANZ was recently forced to pay a record $240 million in penalties to settle four separate investigations by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (Asic). The corporate regulator's probes uncovered widespread misconduct that put public funds at risk and impacted tens of thousands of customers.
The bank admitted to a litany of failures, including engaging in unconscionable conduct while raising money for the federal government, failing to respond to hundreds of customer hardship notices, and making misleading statements about savings interest rates. Perhaps most egregiously, ANZ was found to have failed to refund fees charged to thousands of deceased customers. Asic's chair, Joe Longo, publicly branded the bank's actions as "grubby".
Heated Exchanges and a Firm Defence
The AGM was marked by sharp exchanges between shareholders and the board. ANZ's chair, Paul O'Sullivan, defended the decision to settle with regulators rather than pursue lengthy litigation. "We thought it was in the best interests of shareholders to agree with regulators what was necessary in order to resolve any of their concerns, and not to get involved in extended and expensive litigation," O'Sullivan stated.
His defence did little to placate some attendees. One shareholder described his response to a question on transparency as "disgraceful". The dissatisfaction culminated in a formal vote on the remuneration report, with more than 32% of shareholder votes cast against it. This comfortably exceeded the 25% threshold required to register a 'strike'.
Job Cuts and Board Spill Vote
Alongside the regulatory scandals, ANZ's treatment of its workforce came under fire. The bank is in the process of cutting 3,500 full-time roles and 1,000 contractor jobs. Wendy Streets, national president of the Finance Sector Union (FSU), told the board that employees were living with the constant threat of redundancy. "Your staff who have left in the last couple of months are on the unemployment line leading into one of the most difficult periods of the year to find new employment," she said.
Chief Executive Nuno Matos acknowledged the difficulty of the situation, stating the bank was trying to balance speed with fairness to avoid creating prolonged anxiety. The consecutive strikes on pay triggered a separate vote on whether to spill the board, but this motion was firmly voted down by shareholders.
The events in Sydney underscore a period of profound challenge for ANZ, as it grapples with restoring shareholder trust, managing a shrinking workforce, and moving beyond a reputation severely damaged by systemic failures.
