SYDNEY: ANZ Group Holdings Ltd investors should vote against the firm’s pay report at its annual shareholder meeting this month, proxy adviser Glass Lewis recommends, raising pressure on the board to take more action for past failings.
Glass Lewis cited insufficient remuneration consequences, according to the report. Chair Paul O’Sullivan, who’s been in the role since 2020, will oversee ANZ’s annual general meeting being held in Sydney on Dec 18.
Past and current senior executives, including former chief executive officer (CEO) Shayne Elliott, have been docked more than A$30mil (US$25mil) in compensation after investor criticism of the bank’s past failings across a slew of issues.
This year’s gathering will be a key test of whether ANZ shareholders are satisfied with the changes to fix them.
They delivered a first strike last year, meaning at least a quarter of votes were cast against the bank’s pay report, and a repeat this year would herald a shareholder vote at the meeting on whether directors need to stand for re-election.
Since taking the helm of the Melbourne-based lender more than six months ago, CEO Nuno Matos has apologised for previous shortcomings.
He is revamping the lender following misconduct in its retail and institutional divisions that led to a A$240mil fine and the regulator calling it “clearly grubby”.
The sweeping overhaul under Matos, a former HSBC Holdings Plc executive, will see some 3,500 jobs cut as he also recruits a slew of new senior managers to key posts.
Glass Lewis is among the world’s largest proxy advisory firms, influencing how institutional investors from pensions to mutual funds vote at shareholder meetings. Money managers often use its reports to inform their voting decisions.
Last year, investors sent a clear message on bonus outcomes at the AGM, according to Edward John, executive manager for stewardship at the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors.
Its members are Australian and international asset owners as well as institutional investors with more than A$1.9 trillion in funds under management.
“This year there has been greater accountability at ANZ, the board has responded and cut bonuses significantly for current and former executives,” he said.
The Australian Shareholders’ Association or ASA, which advocates for millions of non-institutional stockholders, has yet to decide on its voting intentions. — Bloomberg
