BANKS AND BANKING – AUSTRALIA – REGULATION

Investors back Matos to clean up the ANZ mess

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 17-Sep-25

The ANZ Bank’s share price fell by just 0.6 per cent on Tuesday, despite growing scrutiny over the lender in the wake of a recorded $240m financial penalty for misconduct. Montgomery Investment Management’s chairman Roger Montgomery says investors are betting that the strategy of ANZ’s relatively new CEO Nuno Matos will succeed in closing the valuation gap with its peers. Jon Mott from Barrenjoey in turn says Matos has a clear mandate to implement his turnaround strategy.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, MONTGOMERY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, BARRENJOEY CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD

‘Do the right thing’: ASIC raises pressure on CBA over refund refusal

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Clancy Yeates
The Age – Page: Online : 30-Jul-25

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is under scrutiny after advising that it will not provide refunds to low-income customers who had been charged high account fees. Westpac and the ANZ Bank have both agreed to provide such refunds to welfare recipients in the wake of an investigation by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission. However, the CBA contends that the fees in question were disclosed to customers and charged in accordance with its terms and conditions, although it subsequently indicated that it will consider making ‘goodwill payments’ to some affected customers. ASIC chairman Joe Longo has urged CBA to avoid taking a legalistic approach to the issue, arguing that other major banks are "doing the right thing".

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

ANZ probed on account interest

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Joyce Moullakis, David Ross
The Australian – Page: 13 & 14 : 22-Jan-25

The ANZ Bank is believed to be under renewed scrutiny by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission, in the wake of recent claims that it deducted fees from the accounts of customers who had died. ANZ has now been accused of incorrectly calculating the interest on a range of savings and deposit accounts, including bonus interest rates. ANZ was embroiled in a similar scandal in 2015, when it was forced to compensate customers regarding the bonus interest they received over a seven-year period.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

Watchdog probes fee theft from dead people: ANZ in more strife

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Joyce Moullakis, David Ross
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 18-Dec-24

The ANZ Bank’s board is likely to face more pressure to address compliance issues in the wake of allegations that fees were deducted from the accounts of customers who had died. Sources have indicated that the Australian Securities & Investments Commission is considering enforcement action against ANZ’s retail banking arm in response to the scandal. Helen Bird from Swinburne University says it is "surprising and disappointing" that scandals of this nature are still occurring more than five years after AMP came under scrutiny by the Hayne royal commission for engaging in this conduct.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, SWINBURNE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Labor vows to force banks to compensate Australians tricked out of money by scammers

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Karen Middleton
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 31-Jul-24

The federal government intends to pursue further reforms aimed at protecting consumers from scams. Assistant treasurer Stephen Jones will note in a National Press Club on Wednesday that the government’s crackdown helped to reduce losses from scams to $2.74bn in 2023, compared with $3bn in 2022. Jones will add that losses due to social media-based scams rose by 17 per cent in 2023, and he will argue that the ‘social licence’ of digital platforms requires them to do more to protect their users from fraudsters. Jones will also flag reforms that will require banks to compensate customers for losses incurred due to scams.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, NATIONAL PRESS CLUB (AUSTRALIA)

Dead bank customers still charged fees

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 3-Jul-24

The ANZ Bank says it has significantly increased the number of employees who manage deceased estates cases, after it was formally sanctioned for charging fees to customers who had passed away. The Banking Code Compliance Committee’s chairman Ian Govey says it generally only sanctions banks for the most serious and systemic breaches of the Banking Code of Practice, and ANZ’s non-compliance justified such action. ANZ has paid remediation of $3.2 million to 18,852 deceased estates since early 2024.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, BANKING CODE COMPLIANCE COMMITTEE

Banking for the rich fear: ANZ

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Glen Norris
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 30-Aug-23

ANZ Bank CEO Shayne Elliott has expressed concern about the impact of over-regulation of the sector and stricter lending standards on access to banking services. He notes that complying with new regulations cost ANZ some 4.7 cents for every dollar of revenue in 2022, compared with just 0.7 cents when he took the helm in 2017. Elliott adds that the regulatory burden is making it harder to obtain a loan or credit card, or to start a business. He acknowledges that lending standards needed to be tightened after the global financial crisis and the Hayne royal commission, but says there is a risk that banking and access to credit may become limited to wealthy people in the future.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

CBA faces penalty over rates slug

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Joyce Moullakis, David Ross
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 2-Dec-20

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission has launched legal action against the Commonwealth Bank of Australia over allegations that it breached financial services laws. ASIC contends that customers with business overdraft accounts were charged incorrect interest rates between December 2014 and March 2018. CBA has advised that 2,269 customers who were overcharged during this period have been reimbursed $3.74m in total. ASIC is seeking pecuniary penalties and other orders.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Regulator won’t appeal wagyu and shiraz case

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 22-Jul-20

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission has ruled out an appeal against Westpac’s court win over allegations that it breached responsible lending laws. The full Federal Court recently upheld an August 2019 ruling in Westpac’s favour, and ASIC is believed to have decided that it will not take the matter to the High Court. ASIC will instead urge the federal government to make changes to credit laws in order to clarify the responsible lending rules.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Banks get a break on customer obligations

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 16 : 26-Jun-20

The Banking Code of Practice, which was approved by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission in December, aims to implement recommendations of the Hayne royal commission. However, ASIC has announced that it has given banks a temporary reprieve from some of the code’s provisions. ASIC has stated that the impact of COVID-19 should be taken into account when considering if a bank has met its commitment to engage ethically and fairly with small business clients; ASIC also noted that banks may not always be able to meet timelines in the code for customer communication.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION