Australian bank ANZ agrees to pay record $160M penalty for corporate misconduct

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MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — One of Australia’s largest banks said Monday it agreed to pay a record 240 million Australian dollars ($160 million) in penalties for corporate misconduct affecting almost 65,000 customers and the federal government.

Melbourne-based ANZ, also known as Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission said in statements they will ask a federal court to endorse the penalties for four separate prosecutions.

The fines would set a new record amount imposed on a single entity for corporate misconduct by the ASIC, the national company and financial services regulator. The previous record was AU$113 million ($75 million) imposed on the Sydney-based bank Westpac for widespread compliance failures in 2022.

“The penalties we’ll be asking the court to impose including a record penalty ASIC has sought for unconscionable conduct reflects the seriousness and number of breaches of law, the vulnerable position that ANZ put its customers in and the repeated failure to rectify crucial issues,” said Joe Longo, ASIC chair.

ANZ admitted failing to refund charges to thousands of dead customers and failing to respond to hundreds of customer hardship notices, in some case for over two years, the regulator said.

The bank made false and misleading statements about savings interest rates and failed to pay the promised interest rate to tens of thousands of customers. ANZ also acted unconscionably with the Australian government while managing AU$14 billion ($9.3 billion) in bonds over two years, ASIC said.

ANZ chief executive Nuno Matos, who joined the bank in May, said he expected to see “measurable improvements” resulting in better care for customers.

“The failings outlined are simply not good enough and they reinforce the case for change,” Matos said.