The Federal Court has ordered Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ.AX) to pay A$250 million in penalties for widespread misconduct and systemic risk failures impacting the Australian Government, taxpayers, and over 65,000 retail bank customers. This is the largest combined penalty ever secured by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) against a single entity. The penalties stem from four court proceedings addressing misconduct across ANZ’s Institutional and Retail divisions, first announced in September 2025.

Justice Jonathan Beach increased the penalty for ANZ’s inaccurate reporting of secondary bond market turnover data by A$10 million, bringing the total penalty for that misconduct to A$50 million. The Court also ordered ANZ to pay A$135 million for institutional and markets misconduct, including a record A$80 million penalty for unconscionable conduct, A$40 million for failing to respond to customer hardship notices, A$40 million for false and misleading statements about savings interest rates, and A$35 million for failing to refund fees charged to deceased customers.

In total, ANZ must pay A$250 million in penalties. Justice Beach described ANZ’s actions as “inexcusable” with “no redeeming feature whatsoever,” emphasizing the need for a substantial penalty for deterrence. ANZ had admitted to the misconduct in September 2025 and initially proposed penalties of A$240 million, but the Court imposed an additional A$10 million penalty for inaccurate reporting, bringing the total to A$250 million.

Read more at Nasdaq: ANZ Hit With Record A$250 Mln Penalties For Misconduct Across Institutional And Retail Divisions