SYDNEY, Feb 26, 2026, 17:38 AEDT — The market has closed.
- ANZ closed up 0.8% at A$39.98, finishing close to its session peak.
- Bank said ex-CEO Shayne Elliott has dropped his lawsuit relating to FY2025 compensation.
- Core inflation running hotter has traders now tilting toward the RBA delivering another rate hike in May.
ANZ Group Holdings Limited ended Thursday’s session at A$39.98, up 0.8%. The stock swung from A$39.55 to A$40.06 during the day, with traders reacting to a new legal development and persistent inflation signals. 1
Why does it matter? ANZ wants focus fixed on fundamentals: margins, costs, credit quality. Not a pay fight tied to its ex-chief. Still, these things have a way of lingering, even when the headline numbers check out.
Rates are the other wild card here. Bank earnings depend heavily on net interest margin—the spread between what lenders make on loans and what they shell out for deposits and funding. That margin can swing fast as policy expectations change.
ANZ disclosed this week that ex-CEO Shayne Elliott dropped his legal challenge related to 2025 pay decisions. According to the bank, Elliott won’t receive any payment or commitment, and each party will cover its own costs. 2
Back in December, Elliott took legal action after ANZ withheld $13.5 million from his post-retirement bonus, ABC News reported then. He served as ANZ’s CEO from 2016 through May 2025. 3
Australia’s monthly CPI picked up 0.4% in January, with the annual figure steady at 3.8%. The trimmed-mean core number jumped to 3.4% — the highest level in 16 months. After the Reserve Bank’s 25 basis-point hike to 3.85% earlier this month, investors moved to price in an 80% shot at another increase in May, according to Reuters. Stephen Smith at Deloitte Access Economics called the trimmed mean “still too high”. Over at EY, chief economist Cherelle Murphy remarked the central bank “has its work cut out”. 4
Initially, higher rates tend to boost margins. Still, the risk is that borrowers may start feeling the pinch, and banks’ own funding costs head higher. Bank stocks react badly to unexpected turns—and lately, that’s all the rate environment has delivered.
Valuation is now front and centre in broker notes on the big four — ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and Westpac. Macquarie and Morgan Stanley data compiled by Market Index pegs the sector’s average price-to-earnings multiple at roughly 21 times. Historically, RBA tightening has led to de-ratings, the research shows. ANZ stands out as the relative bargain, though analysts warn that intensifying competition in home loans and deposits could weigh on results down the track. 5
The bullish scenario rests on the economy holding up and bad debt levels remaining subdued. Should rate expectations shift higher or growth slow down more abruptly, though, credit losses could snap back and bank valuations might contract.
Heading into the next session, traders are watching bond yields and waiting for any new signals from the RBA about May. ANZ’s main focus is May 7, when its half-year results land; the interim dividend goes ex-dividend on May 18, according to the bank’s own calendar. 6
