In October 2025, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) fined the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) a record amount of 240 million Australian Dollars because of having initiated a massively practiced misconduct and unconscionable behavior that plagued nearly 65,000 customers. The fine is the biggest corporate sentence that ASIC issued to one party ever.
The Core of The Scandal
ASIC discovered that ANZ had during various years committed serious breaches in both its institutional and retail divisions, including:
– Government Bond Misconduct: ANZ inflated market data on Australian government bonds and overstated government bonds trading volumes by tens of billions of dollars within a government bond deal of AED 14 billion.
– Customer Negligence and Overcharging: More than 65,000 retail banking customers were charged excessively, lied to or refused refunds and third-party support over the years.
– Deceased Customer Accounts: ANZ was not managing deceased estates timely and the thousands of deceased customers who remained charged their fees.
– False Interest Rate Promises: Bank lied about the interest rates on savings accounts, costing tens of thousands of its customers a proper payment.
According to ASIC, such failures demonstrated the lack of accountability and compliance, on several levels in the bank.
Disaggregation of the 240 Million Fine
| Category | Penalty Amount (AUD) | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Bond Trading Misconduct | $125 million | Includes $80 million for unconscionable conduct toward the government |
| Retail Banking and Fee Failures | $115 million | Covers misleading rates, hardship neglect, and deceased customer accounts |
| Total Fine | $240 million | Largest penalty ever imposed by ASIC |
Outreach to 65,000 Australian Customers
The scandal had direct impacts on approximately, 65,000 customers, who claimed to have been victimized by overcharging, lack of refunds and erroneous rates on interest payments. A significant number of these customers had defaulted the hardship notices up to 2 years. ASIC instructed ANZ to start compensation schemes now and refunds will be received between late 2025 and early 2026.
– Refund will contain repaid fees as well as interest.
– The customers can check on the eligibility by using the dispute resolution centre of ANZ or the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).
– Consumer protection organizations have demanded better regulation and expedited reparation to the defenceless Australians.
Regulator and Public Reactions
ASIC Chairperson, Joe Longo, mentioned, time and again ANZ had broken the confidence of Australians. These fines are based on serious and recurrent violations that endangered their customers and even government funds.
The move was welcome by Financial Counselling Australia (FCA) which mentioned that it illuminates the systemic malpractice and harm that was done to consumers who were left without the assistance that they deserved.
The Response and Restructuring of ANZ
Chairman of ANZ, Paul O Sullivan and Chief Executive, Nuno Mattos talked publicly, promising to compensate customers who had been affected and reform risk management systems. The bank has introduced an internal rest.
What Happens Next
– Court Review: It will take the Federal Court until the end of 2025 to officially approve the penalties.
– Compensation Period: Customer refunds are expected to be made by the beginning of the year 2026.
– Banking Reforms: APRA and ASIC are making more audits and compliance inspections of all major Australian banks in the aftermath of the ANZ case.
FAQs
Q1. Why was ANZ fined $240 million?
In the case of massive wrongdoing, such as the overreporting of government bond trading news, the incompetence in handling customer distress notices, misrepresenting the interest rates and charging dead clients.
Q2. What was the number of those who were affected?
ANZ failures cost about 65,000 Australian customers their money.
Q3. In what ways and at what time will customers be refunded?
It should have expected refunds and repayment of interest between **October 2025 and early 2026** after Federal Court approval.
