On Friday, it was announced that Australia and New Zealand Banking Group has been ordered by the Australian Federal Court to pay $250m in combined penalties after admitting to widespread misconduct and systemic risk failures affecting government bodies and tens of thousands of customers.
The penalties, secured by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, are the largest ever imposed on a single entity by the regulator.
The judgment covers four separate proceedings spanning ANZ’s institutional and retail divisions.
Justice Jonathan Beach increased the penalty for ANZ’s inaccurate reporting of secondary bond market turnover data to $50m, describing the conduct as “inexcusable” and lacking “any redeeming feature whatsoever”.
The court found ANZ overstated bond trading volumes by billions of dollars over nearly two years, exposing the Australian Government to significant risk.
The bank was also fined $135m for misconduct linked to a $14bn government bond deal and misleading reporting, including a record $80m penalty for unconscionable conduct.
Additional penalties include $40m for failures in handling customer hardship notices, $40m for false and misleading statements about savings interest rates, and $35m for failing to refund fees charged to deceased customers’ accounts.
ASIC chair Joe Longo said the scale of the penalties underscored the seriousness of the misconduct and its far-reaching consequences, adding that ANZ “must do better” given its central role in the banking system.
ANZ admitted to the misconduct in September and cooperated with ASIC, which the court acknowledged in determining the final penalties.
Justice Beach said the sanctions were not to be treated as a cost of doing business and were intended to deter future misconduct across the sector.
