Grubby and unconscionable isn’t a slogan a bank will ever use, but it’s the verdict on ANZ’s conduct from the financial regulator as it imposes record penalties.
The bank on Monday agreed to pay $240 million in fines for four separate acts of wrongdoing, six years after a royal commission found widespread misconduct in Australia’s financial services industry.
The eyewatering sum is the largest punishement the Australia Securities and Investments Commission has handed down to a single entity.
On top of the multi-million dollar repayments, the Finance Sector Union said it would lodge a Fair Work Commission complaint against ANZ, which last week announced plans to cut 3500 jobs and 1000 contractor roles by next September.
“ANZ can find $240 million to pay for unconscionable conduct, yet it’s cutting 3500 staff,” union national secretary Julia Angrisano said.
“It shows a bank that is completely unhinged. Workers and customers are the ones paying the price for executive failure.”
Ms Angrisano said ANZ was a “bank in crisis” and called for federal intervention.
ANZ has admitted to failing to respond to hundreds of notices about customer hardship, making false and misleading statements about its savings interest rates and failing to pay those amounts to customers.
It also mishandled a $14 billion bond deal for the federal government, which ASIC said effectively cost the commonwealth about $26 million.
ANZ said it believed no loss was caused to the commonwealth, but admits it could have handled the job with better communication and offered repayment as a goodwill gesture.
“It was clearly grubby,” ASIC chairman Joseph Longo said.
“Let’s be frank. They said they were going to follow their own policies and they didn’t.”
ANZ submitted inaccurate data regarding secondary bond turnover for two years to the Australian Office of Financial Management, which had hired the bank as its bond duration manager.
“None of that conduct is regarded as intentional, but the cumulative effect of it is unconscionable,” Mr Longo said.
He said ANZ had repeated internal failures and several opportunities to rectify its reporting.
“Through a combination of organisational incompetence and a failure to get a grip on their own data and systems and processes, they let themselves down.”
The bank’s other failures included not refunding fees to thousands of dead customers and not responding to deceased estate inquiries from loved ones within the required time frame.
ANZ had admitted to the allegations and taken action, including holding relevant executives accountable, chairman Paul O’Sullivan said.
More than 50 accountability reviews have been completed and some current and former executives have had their pay docked.
Most affected customers – that ANZ has been able to identify – have been remediated, while 56,000 customers due bonus interest from August 2024 to March are expected to be compensated soon.
ANZ has been unable to identify the total number of dead people to whom it charged fees between 2019 and 2023.
The penalties will put more pressure on CEO Nuno Matos, a former HSBC executive who joined the bank in May.
Mr Nuno apologised to affected customers.
“The failings outlined are simply not good enough and they reinforce the case for change,” he said.
“Unfortunately, some of our failings occurred when our customers were at their most vulnerable.
“For this, we are deeply sorry.”
Each matter will be separately considered and determined by the Federal Court.