The ASIC has levelled serious accusations against ANZ, alleging the bank acted unconscionably in its handling of a $14bn bond deal and misreported bond trading data to the government.
According to the regulator, the lender overstated its bond trading volumes by tens of billions of dollars over nearly two years. These institutional failings form part of a broader pattern of misconduct that has led Asic to seek penalties totalling $240m, claims Finextra.
In the retail sector, ANZ is also facing censure for failing to respond to hundreds of customer hardship notices. The regulator has accused the bank of making false and misleading statements about its savings interest rates, while failing to pay the promised rate to tens of thousands of customers. The institution also continued to charge fees to thousands of deceased clients and did not respond within the required timeframe to families managing deceased estates.
The penalties, which remain subject to approval by the Federal Court, include $125m for institutional and markets-related matters. This encompasses a record $80m penalty for unconscionable conduct. A further $115m in penalties has been proposed for three retail breaches.
Asic chair Joe Longo said, “Time and time again ANZ betrayed the trust of Australians. The total penalties across these matters are the largest announced by Asic against one entity and reflect the seriousness and number of breaches of law, the vulnerable position that ANZ put its customers in and the repeated failures to rectify crucial issues. There are fundamental issues with ANZ’s risk and compliance culture that require the Board’s and executives’ urgent attention.”
The regulator has now brought 11 civil penalty cases against ANZ since 2016, with proposed and ordered penalties exceeding $310m.
Asic deputy chair Sarah Court said, “The issues we have seen reflect serious inadequacies across multiple levels and multiple divisions of ANZ and a clear failure to manage non-financial risk. As one of Australia’s biggest banks, customers trusted ANZ to do the right thing but, even on the basics like paying the correct interest rate, it fell short.”
Responding to the findings, ANZ chairman Paul O’Sullivan said, “The reality is we made mistakes that have had a significant impact on customers. On behalf of ANZ, I apologise and assure our customers we have taken the necessary action, including holding relevant executives accountable.”
Find more on RegTech Analyst.
Keep up with all the latest FinTech news here
Copyright © 2025 FinTech Global
