ANZ fined $165 mln by Australian regulator over misconduct, risk failures

Investing.com-- ANZ Group (ASX:ANZ) was fined A$250 million ($165 million) by an Australian Federal Court over several instances of misconduct by the lender, Australia’s securities regulator said on Friday.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said in a statement that the court had ordered the fine against ANZ as penalties for “widespread misconduct and systemic risk failures affecting the Australian Government, taxpayers and at least 65,000 retail bank customers.”

The regulator said that the A$250 million fine was the largest ever combined penalty it had ever secured against a single entity. 

Friday’s announcement was in relation to four separate court proceedings against ANZ over continued misconduct by the lender’s institutional and retail divisions. 

Chief among these was ANZ’s mishandling of a A$14 billion government bond deal and subsequent misconduct in reporting secondary bond market turnover data. The ASIC said ANZ’s misconduct in the matter presented "far-reaching consequences" for the government and taxpayers.

ANZ was also penalized for delayed responses to customer hardship notices, making misleading statements about savings and interest rates, and for failing to refund fees charged to thousands of dead customers. 

“‘ANZ is a critical part of Australia’s banking system and, frankly, they must do better,” ASIC Chair Joe Longo said in a statement. “ANZ must overhaul its non-financial risk management and put the interests of clients, customers and the public first.” 

ANZ shares rose 1.2% on Friday. They are trading up nearly 28% in 2025. 

The lender, which is among Australia’s biggest banks, undertook a sweeping reform this year under new CEO Nuno Matos, as it sought to rectify years of systemic misconduct across its institutional and retail operations. 

On Thursday, Matos said he will forgo his short-term bonus for the year after a significant minority of shareholders opposed ANZ’s executive pay report– a second strike for the lender after a similar vote last year. 

ANZ could now face a shareholder vote on whether to remove its entire board.