Reforms to impact the Big Four bank's middle, senior management tiers
ANZ Bank is linking its middle and senior managers' bonus payments to CEO Nuno Matos's new corporate values in an effort to provide "greater consistency" on how the company's reward decisions are made.
The change is expected to take effect this year, impacting thousands of the bank's middle and senior management tier, which are classified internally as Group 2 or higher, The Australian reported, citing an internal memo from ANZ Bank.
Under the reform, a new bonus payments scheme will combine separate bonuses paid for individual "at risk" pay and "group" performance under a single performance award.
A new five-point performance rating will also be introduced to determine the final pay for senior managers. The bonus payments will be tied to Matos's new corporate values that were introduced earlier this year. They include:
- We put customers first
- We deliver with excellence
- We own the outcome
- We work as one
There are plans to implement similar reforms to other management or supervisory staff at ANZ, The Australian reported. The shift, however, is expected to arrive next year amid required negotiations with unions.
Clearer reward decisions at ANZ
Employees were informed of the changes to its bonus payment scheme in a memo from Elisa Clements, ANZ's group executive, talent and culture.
Clements said in the memo that the changes support the bank's ambitions to become a high-performing organisation where "it's clear to understand how performance, behaviour, and reward connect."
The executive added that the changes respond to the need for "better customers outcomes, stronger risk management, and greater consistency in how performance, behaviour, and reward decisions are made."
The reforms underscore the ongoing culture shift under Matos, who has spoken about resetting the bank's culture when he announced the ANZ 2030 strategy in October 2025.
The CEO's newly introduced corporate values drew a variety of reactions online, especially after "respect" was taken out of the bank's new cultural framework.
The new values come after a review of the Big Four bank's culture showed that a culture of "good news" and respect is holding back healthy debates and speaking up within the organisation.
"ANZ has a culture of respect that extends into a reluctance to challenge, which can diminish healthy debate and speaking up," read the report, which was released in November 2025.
"ANZ values collaboration, but the involvement of multiple stakeholders can dilute accountability and delay decision-making."
