CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has announced that Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited has admitted to engaging in unconscionable conduct in its services to the Australian Government. This includes incorrectly reporting bond trading volumes-overstating them by tens of billions of dollars-and widespread misconduct across various products and services that affected nearly 65,000 customers.
ASIC is now asking the Federal Court to impose penalties totaling A$240 million across four separate legal proceedings. These cases span misconduct in both ANZ's Institutional and Retail divisions and reflect serious failures in managing non-financial risks over many years.
The four matters filed by ASIC include: Unconscionable conduct in managing a A$14 billion bond deal for the Australian Government, with inflated bond trading data reported over nearly two years; Neglecting customer hardship notices, with hundreds of cases left unresolved for extended periods and inadequate hardship support systems in place; False and misleading statements about savings interest rates, where tens of thousands of customers did not receive the promised returns; Charging fees to deceased customers, and failing to respond appropriately to families handling deceased estates within the required timeframe.
The proposed penalties include A$125 million for institutional and markets-related misconduct, with a record A$80 million specifically for unconscionable conduct. The remaining A$115 million covers the three retail-related matters. These penalties are subject to approval by the Federal Court of Australia.
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