ANZ shareholders slammed the bank’s executive pay plans for the second year in a row at a heated annual meeting on Thursday. Their anger follows a series of regulatory breaches, including failure to refund fees charged to thousands of dead customers. Recently, ANZ faced a record $240 million fine to settle four investigations by the corporate regulator due to widespread misconduct. More than 32% of shareholders voted against the bank's pay report, surpassing the 25% needed to trigger a strike. The ANZ chair, Paul O’Sullivan, defended the board, saying, “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.” The Sydney meeting saw sharp exchanges, with one shareholder calling O’Sullivan’s answer on transparency “disgraceful.” In September, ANZ admitted to unconscionable conduct, such as misleading statements on savings rates, ignoring hardship notices, and charging fees to dead customers. ASIC chair Joe Longo called these actions “grubby.” The strikes forced a vote on spilling the board, but it was firmly rejected. ANZ also faced criticism over cutting 3,500 full-time jobs and 1,000 contractor roles. The Finance Sector Union called the bank’s treatment of staff “atrocious.” FSU president Wendy Streets said many workers faced job threats and that ANZ declined every request to help affected employees. Streets added, “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.” ANZ CEO Nuno Matos described the situation as “tough,” saying, “If we do it too fast, we run risks to be unfair, and we don’t want to be unfair to people. If we do it too slow, it creates anxiety. So we are trying to make it right.” The redundancy plans are ongoing, with pressure mounting from both shareholders and workers.