ANZ Admits Widespread Misconduct, Agrees to $240M Penalty

ANZ Bank has agreed to pay a $240 million penalty to settle multiple legal cases brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) related to widespread misconduct spanning its institutional and retail banking divisions. The bank admitted to unconscionable conduct, including incorrectly reporting bond trading data to the Australian government by overstating trading volumes by tens of billions of dollars, failing to respond adequately to customer hardship notices, making false statements about savings interest rates, and mishandling fees charged to deceased customers. ASIC described these breaches as the most significant penalties ever imposed by the regulator on a single entity, reflecting the severity and duration of ANZ's misconduct and the harm caused to nearly 65,000 customers. ANZ’s chairman apologized for the bank’s failures and acknowledged a lack of accountability for executives responsible. The $240 million penalty is divided between $125 million for institutional matters, including an $80 million penalty for unconscionable conduct, and $115 million for retail banking failures. Both ASIC and ANZ will seek Federal Court approval for the penalties, underscoring the regulator’s commitment to holding financial institutions accountable for misconduct.