ANZ fined $240m for incorrect trading reporting and misconduct

This is the largest ever announced by ASIC against one entity.

The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) Ltd. has agreed to pay $240m for incorrect bond trading data reported to the government as well as widespread misconduct that reportedly affected 65,000 customers, according to a regulator.

The bank— Australia’s second largest in terms of asset-size— admitted to incorrectly reporting its bond trading data to the Australian government, overstating the volumes by “tens of billions of dollars,” according to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in a media release published 15 September 2025.

The penalties, subject to consideration and approval by the Federal Court, include a record $80m penalty for what ASIC calls “unconscionable conduct,” $125m for institutional and market matters, and $115m in total penalties for three retail banking matters.

ANZ has admitted the allegations in each of the proceedings, and together with ASIC will ask the Federal Court to impose the penalties.

“‘The total penalties across these matters are the largest announced by ASIC against one entity and reflect the seriousness and number of breaches of law, the vulnerable position that ANZ put its customers in and the repeated failures to rectify crucial issues,” said ASIC Chair Joe Longo.

The misconduct spans four separate proceedings across ANZ’s institution and retail divisions.

The first involves incorrectly reporting bond trading data to the government whilst managing a $14b bond deal. ANZ is said to have overstated the bond trading volume by “tens of billions of dollars” for over two years.

Separately, ANZ failed to respond to hundreds of customer hardship notices, in some cases for over two years, ASIC said. ANZ also failed to have proper hardship processes in place, the commission stated.

ANZ is also being fined for making false and misleading statements about its savings interest rates and failing to pay the promised interest rate to tens and thousands of customers.

Failing to refund fees charged to thousands of dead customers and not responding to loved ones trying to deal with deceased estates within the required timeframe.

“In the bond trading case, ANZ was in a trusted position, and its conduct had the potential to reduce the amount of funding available to the government. This funding is used to support critical services including Australia’s health and education systems, affecting all Australians,” said Longo.

Separately, ANZ recently announced that it will lay off 3,500 staff by September 2026 and reduce engagements with consultants and other third parties.