Australia’s corporate watchdog ASIC has filed four civil proceedings against ANZ Bank, seeking a record $240 million in penalties for unconscionable conduct, misleading practices, and systemic failures across its institutional and retail operations. This marks the 11th time ASIC has taken action against ANZ since 2016.
Central to the case is ANZ’s role in a $14 billion government bond deal, where the bank allegedly misreported trading data and engaged in market activity that potentially cost the government $26 million. ASIC claims ANZ’s aggressive trading of 10-year bond futures placed downward pressure on prices, reducing the funds raised for essential services like health and education. The bank also failed to disclose its trading activity to the government, breaching trust in a role of national importance.
ASIC also alleges that ANZ overstated its bond trading turnover by tens of billions of dollars over nearly two years, misleading the government and potentially securing more appointments for future bond deals. Internal concerns about the accuracy of this data were reportedly ignored, despite its influence on dealer selection.
Beyond the bond trading scandal, ASIC highlighted three major retail failures: delayed responses to hundreds of financial hardship notices, misleading bonus interest offers that underpaid tens of thousands of customers, and improper handling of deceased estates, where fees were charged to deceased customers and families were left without timely support.
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ASIC Chair Joe Longo condemned the bank’s conduct, stating: “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.”
Longo emphasized that trust is fundamental to banking and called for urgent reform within ANZ’s risk and compliance culture. If approved by the Federal Court, the penalties will bring ANZ’s total fines to over $310 million, sending a strong message that misconduct will not be tolerated in Australia’s financial sector.
