Former ANZ chief Shayne Elliott drops legal action against bank

The former chief executive of ANZ Bank, Shayne Elliott, has ended his legal action against the bank after it denied him $13.5 million in bonuses following a string of regulatory woes at the big four giant.

The Melbourne-based bank, which had previously vowed to defend the court case vigorously, said on Tuesday it had not made any payments or commitments to Elliott.

“ANZ today welcomed the decision by former chief executive officer Shayne Elliott to discontinue legal proceedings relating to remuneration outcomes in the 2025 financial year,” the bank said.

“As part of discontinuation, ANZ confirms that no payments or commitments were made to Mr Elliott, with both parties bearing their own costs.”

Elliott missed out on $13.5 million after the bank’s board pushed for accountability for a series of incidents that occurred while he was running the bank, including four court matters that were settled last September, with ANZ agreeing to pay a record $240 million fine.

In doing so, the bank admitted to unconscionable conduct on a major government bond deal, incorrect reporting of trading data and misconduct affecting nearly 65,000 customers.

In December, Elliott took action in the Supreme Court of NSW, saying he accepted the need for accountability, but he alleged the bank had breached its contract with him.

“The bank and I had a clear, unambiguous agreement about the terms of my departure. As you would expect, having entered into a contract, my expectation is that those terms would be honoured,” Elliott said in a statement in December. This masthead attempted to contact Elliott on Tuesday.

After Elliott lodged the lawsuit, ANZ’s chairman Paul O’Sullivan told the bank’s annual meeting in December that ANZ was “very confident of our legal position” regarding the dispute, and he vowed to defend the case.

O’Sullivan also signalled the bank could seek to claw back more bonuses from executives, saying salaries and incentives were a key mechanism for how the bank enforced accountability.

“I want to be really clear, the board can – and will – make future adjustments where appropriate. This methodical assessment over an extended period is consistent with the intent of the law, in terms of regulation, following the Royal Commission, ensuring accountability and alignment over time,” O’Sullivan told the annual meeting.

Elliott left ANZ in May after more than nine years in the top job. ANZ’s annual report, published in November, said neither Elliott nor his successor, Nuno Matos, had received a short-term bonus for the 2025 year, and the bank had also cancelled incentives that Elliott was due to receive.

Investors issued ANZ with a hefty protest vote at its annual meeting last year, with 32.4 per cent of votes opposing its remuneration report, delivering the bank a second “strike” on executive pay.

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