Australia's ANZ to pay $160 million over bond deal, customer violations

Core Viewpoint - ANZ Group has acknowledged "unconscionable conduct" in its bond trading services and agreed to pay A$240 million ($159.5 million) in penalties to resolve multiple investigations by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission [1][2]. Regulatory Violations - The violations involve ANZ staff manipulating markets during a government bond issuance and misreporting bond trading data [2]. - ANZ's Chief Executive Nuno Matos highlighted issues within the Australia Retail sector, particularly regarding the management of non-financial risk, prompting changes to improve safety for customers [2]. Remediation Plan - ANZ plans to submit its Root Cause Remediation Plan to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority by September 30, 2025, as part of the court undertaking [2]. - The bank anticipates spending approximately A$150 million to implement this plan in fiscal 2026, which will be funded by deprioritizing other initiatives [2]. Internal Actions - The bank has previously terminated or suspended traders from its markets business due to allegations of inappropriate behavior [3].