ANZ Pays $1.9M Fine in New Zealand, Admits Law Breach

ANZ Group Holdings Ltd. has admitted to violating fair trading regulations and has agreed to pay a fine after incorrectly charging some customers in New Zealand for fees on unarranged overdrafts, the country’s Financial Markets Authority said.

The Melbourne-based firm will pay NZ$3.25 million ($1.9 million) for the breaches that occurred between Dec. 2012 and May 2023, according to a statement from the New Zealand FMA. ANZ has made remediation payments to all impacted current and past customers, the statement said.

Margot Gartland, the FMA’s head of enforcement, said in the statement that another breach involved ANZ claiming repayment of mortgage incentives previously given to customers when it shouldn’t have.

A spokesperson for ANZ said that in both matters referenced by the FMA, the firm had identified the issue and proactively notified the regulator.

“We remain committed to doing the right thing by our customers and continuously improving how we operate,” the spokesperson added.

The CEO of ANZ Bank, Nuno Matos, is undertaking a revamp of the firm, planning to lay off staff and adjust senior risk and compliance positions. Last month, this newly appointed leader had to apologize for the communication failure of the redundancy plan.

The FMA acknowledged ANZ’s cooperation throughout its investigation, adding that the firm had recorded its commitment to effective policies, systems and processes to stop similar issues from happening again.