ANZ Admits Misconduct, Faces $240 Million Fine in Australia

ANZ misconduct $240 million fine Australia has shaken the banking sector, marking one of the largest penalties ever proposed against a financial institution in the country.

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) admitted to serious misconduct, including inflating bond trading volumes worth billions, misleading the government and customers, and mishandling client accounts. Around 65,000 customers were directly affected by these failures.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and ANZ jointly approached the Federal Court seeking a $240 million fine to settle four separate cases of misconduct across the bank’s institutional and retail divisions. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ) has admitted to large-scale misconduct and agreed to pay a $240 million fine after years of irresponsible practices that affected both government dealings and tens of thousands of customers.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and ANZ will seek approval from the Federal Court to impose penalties covering four separate cases of misconduct in the bank’s institutional and retail divisions.

ANZ’s failures included:

• Misreporting government bond trading volumes worth tens of billions of dollars.
• Failing to respond to hardship notices from customers for over two years.
• Making misleading statements about savings interest rates and failing to honor promised rates.
• Charging fees to thousands of deceased customers and ignoring estate representatives.

ASIC Chair Joe Longo said the case represents “the largest penalty ASIC has ever announced against a single institution” and reflects repeated failures of ANZ to act responsibly. He added that the misconduct undermined public trust in Australia’s banking system.

Deputy Chair Sarah Court emphasized that the findings reveal “serious deficiencies across multiple levels of ANZ” and demonstrate a failure to properly manage non-financial risks.

The penalties include $125 million for institutional and market misconduct and $115 million for retail misconduct. If approved, it will be the most severe financial penalty imposed on an Australian bank to date.

Since 2016, ASIC has brought 11 civil penalty cases against ANZ, totaling more than $310 million. Despite the fine, ANZ admitted the charges and pledged to improve compliance and risk management.

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