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Key Points

ANZ Bank has been slapped with a massive $240 million AUD fine by Australian regulators. The penalty comes after the bank admitted to widespread misconduct across its retail and institutional divisions. This included incorrectly reporting data on a massive government bond deal and failing to refund fees to deceased customers' accounts. ASIC Chairman Joe Longo stated that ANZ repeatedly betrayed the trust of Australians through these actions.

Key Points: ANZ Bank Hit With Record 240 Million Dollar Fine for Misconduct

  • ANZ incorrectly reported data on a $14 billion government bond deal
  • Bank failed to refund fees charged to deceased customers
  • Misconduct impacted nearly 65,000 retail and institutional customers
  • Several executives have been held accountable for the failures
2 min read

Major Australian bank hit with record fine for widespread misconduct

ANZ Bank agrees to pay a record $240 million AUD fine after admitting to widespread misconduct affecting 65,000 customers and mismanaging a government bond deal.

"Time and time again, ANZ betrayed the trust of Australians - ASIC Chairman Joe Longo"

Sydney, Sep 15

One of Australia's "big four" banks has been hit with a record-breaking fine after admitting to engaging in widespread misconduct.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) on Monday announced that the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) has agreed to pay 240 million Australian dollars ($159.5 million) in penalties in relation to four separate investigations spanning the bank's institutional and retail divisions, Xinhua news agency reported.

ASIC said that ANZ, Australia's fourth-largest bank by market capitalization, admitted to engaging in unconscionable conduct in dealings with the federal government by incorrectly reporting trading data relating to its management of a 14 billion Australian dollars ($9.3 billion) bond deal.

Additionally, it said the bank engaged in widespread misconduct across products and services impacting nearly 65,000 customers, including failing to refund fees charged to deceased customers.

ASIC said the agreed settlement, which is subject to approval by the Federal Court, is made up of a 125 million Australian dollars ($83.1 million) fine for the institutional and markets matters and a 115 million Australian dollars ($76.4 million) penalty for the retail matters.

"Time and time again, ANZ betrayed the trust of Australians," ASIC Chairman Joe Longo said in a statement.

"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," he said.

Chairman of ANZ Paul O'Sullivan apologized for mistakes that had a "significant impact" on customers and said that several relevant executives have been held accountable.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

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Priya S
Charging fees to deceased customers? That's absolutely heartless! 😡 Banks should have more empathy and better systems in place. Hope Indian banks learn from this.
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Michael C
While the fine seems large, it's probably just a fraction of their profits. Until executives face real consequences, these things will keep happening.
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Ananya R
At least they're being held accountable. In India, we often see banks getting away with much worse behavior without proper penalties. Our RBI should take note!
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Sarah B
This is why I prefer smaller cooperative banks. These big banks become too profit-focused and forget their basic duty to customers.
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Vikram M
The fact that it took multiple investigations and affected 65,000 customers shows this wasn't just a one-time mistake. Systematic failure of ethics and governance.

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