Dec 19 (Reuters) – ANZ Banking Group has been fined A$250 million ($165.3 million) by the Federal Court for misconduct in its handling of A$14 billion in government bond transactions, as well as other conduct affecting taxpayers and retail customers, Australia’s regulator said on Friday.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said the court had ordered the bank to pay a total of A$250 million in fines arising from four separate court proceedings at its institutional and retail banking divisions over misconduct disclosed in September.
Of the total fines of A$250 million, A$135 million relates to institutional and market misconduct related to the handling of A$14 billion in government bond transactions and inaccurate reporting of secondary bond market transaction data, including a record A$80 million fine for unreasonable conduct.
ANZ did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
The securities regulator said Judge Jonathan Beach had increased the penalty for inaccurate reporting of ANZ’s secondary bond market transaction data by A$10 million, taking the penalty for the misconduct to A$50 million.
ASIC chairman Joe Longo said the scale of the penalty highlighted the seriousness of ANZ’s misconduct and its far-reaching consequences, adding the bank must overhaul its non-financial risk management and prioritize the interests of customers and the public.
(USD 1 = ‌1.5124 AUD)
(Reporting by Roshan Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)