ANZ Australia fined A$240 million for unconscionable conduct

ANZ Australia – the parent company of ANZ New Zealand – has agreed to pay a record A$240 million (NZ$270 million) fine for “unconscionable conduct” in its government relations and “widespread misconduct” in its dealings with retail customers.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said ANZ’s failures included incorrectly reporting bond volumes by billions of dollars, making false statements about interest rates, ignoring customer hardship notices and failing to refund fees charged to dead customers.