The decision by the board of market operator ASX to strip former chief executive Dominic Stevens of $2.6 million worth of long-term share rights suggests it has heard the market’s anger over the failure of its CHESS clearing and settlement system.

The ASX remuneration report says the board applied malus – or is that malice? – over all long term variable rewards issued to Stevens and former deputy CEO Peter Hiom between 2018 and 2021. The four chunks of Stevens’ share rights made over that period were given a potential future value of $2.6 million in the 2022 annual report.