Clawing back millions from top bosses isn’t easy but one bank just did it

It faces those shareholders again in December, so the bank needed to make a gesture that was unforgettably big. Across the broader community and the bank’s customer base there will be few tears shed for these pay punishments, given the limited tolerance for the eye-watering levels of remuneration granted to executives of many large companies. But the bonus pain didn’t stop with Elliott – it rolled downhill to another layer of ANZ’s senior management some of which have left the bank since Elliott’s departure. Even the new chief executive Nuno Matos, whose time post dated the bank’s misconduct issues, forfeited his short-term bonus as a measure of leading by example. That gesture is certainly one for the books.