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Westpac chief executive Brian Hartzer asked for no short-term bonus this year.Credit:Louie Douvis

A"strike"refers to shareholder a vote of more than 25 per cent against a company's remuneration report. If a company gets two strikes in consecutive years,it triggers a further a vote on whether to spill the board of directors

Westpac,which posted a 15 per cent drop in profit on Monday,said Mr Hartzer would have been eligible for a short-term bonus of about $1.6 million,but he had asked the board for the amount to be cut to zero.

The Westpac board considered Mr Hartzer's bonus separately from his recommendation,and determined a short-term bonus of zero was appropriate.

Mr Hartzer’s realised pay for the year was $4 million,the bank said,comprising $2.7 million in fixed pay and $1.3 million in shares from bonuses in previous years.

Asked about the voluntary pay cut,Mr Hartzer highlighted the need for accountability,and for executives to be"aligned"with shareholders.

“It’s very important that we have strong alignment between executives and the shareholders,and it was clear to me earlier in the year,given the magnitude of the provisions,there was going to be a significant impact on the financials,and I thought that it was important I recognise that impact,” Mr Hartzer told journalists.

Westpac suffered a hefty first"strike"in 2018,with 64 per cent of shareholders voting against the remuneration report,in response to executive bonuses being paid in a year of scandal for the industry.

Chairman Lindsay Maxtsed wrote in the bank's annual report that its pay decisions last year were"not in line"with shareholder expectations,and the board had cut back various payments,while also reducing director fees by 20 per cent for the year.

ANZ,meanwhile,said it had cut Mr Elliott's short-term bonus by $250,000 to $1.5 million because he was"accountable for the overall performance of the group."ANZ's cash profit was flat last year,after its core Australian business was weighed down by compensation costs.

The chair of ANZ's human resource committee,Ilana Atlas,said Mr Elliott's annual variable remuneration was 48 per cent of his maximum opportunity,down from 56 per cent last year.

Mr Elliott received $4.1 million for the year,the report said. That included fixed pay of $2.1 million,a cash bonus of $750,000,and previously awarded shares worth $1.2 million that vested during the year.

On a"statutory"basis,Mr Hartzer's remuneration for 2019 was $5.05 million and Mr Elliott's pay was $5.18 million.

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