ANZ Bank misconduct fine 2025 – when the news broke in September 2025 that ANZ Bank had agreed to pay a record AUD 240 million fine for “widespread misconduct,” it did not just rattle the Australian financial sector. It reignited an uncomfortable global debate: why do large banks, armed with sophisticated compliance frameworks and audited annual reports, keep failing their customers time and time again?
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) was blunt in its assessment. ANZ, one of the country’s “big four” banks, had systematically overcharged clients, misled regulators, and allowed weak internal controls to persist for years. Chair Joe Longo summed it up sharply: “Time and time again, they betrayed the trust of Australians.”
This cornerstone article unpacks what the ANZ case tells us about governance, reporting, and accountability. It looks beyond the headlines to examine the anatomy of misconduct, draws comparisons with global scandals, and explores what lessons boards, auditors, regulators, and investors must take to heart.
1. The Anatomy of the ANZ Misconduct
The details are stark. ASIC found that ANZ charged customers fees for services never provided, failed to correct known system errors for years, and misled regulators during investigations. The breaches were not isolated. They were systemic, spanning thousands of accounts and persisting despite internal warnings.
At the core lies a breakdown of three governance layers:
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Tone at the top – Leadership failed to enforce a culture where customer interest came before short-term profits.
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Risk management – Deficiencies in monitoring, IT systems, and operational controls were ignored rather than fixed.
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External accountability – Annual reports disclosed generic risks but downplayed the scale of operational failures that were already known internally.
This is not just a story of compliance gone wrong. It is a case study in how corporate governance failures translate directly into financial, reputational, and regulatory costs.
Read more on the fine and regulator statements from the Australian Securities & Investments Commission.
2. A Global Pattern of Misconduct
ANZ is not alone. The banking sector has long struggled to align culture with controls. Consider a few high-profile parallels:
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Wells Fargo (USA, 2016) – Employees created millions of fake customer accounts to meet sales targets. The scandal cost over $4 billion in fines and settlements, toppled the CEO, and permanently damaged the brand.
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Deutsche Bank (Germany, multiple cases) – From LIBOR manipulation to weak anti-money laundering controls, the bank has paid billions in penalties and struggled with shareholder trust.
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Commonwealth Bank of Australia (2018) – Faced a AUD 700 million fine for anti-money laundering breaches linked to suspicious cash deposits.
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Credit Suisse (Switzerland, 2023) – Collapsed after years of risk control failures, from Greensill to Archegos, showing how governance weaknesses can destroy even iconic institutions.
Each case carries a consistent theme: financial institutions know the rules, but cultural and structural incentives push them to the edge—or over it.
Read more on the Wells Fargo enforcement actions on the Security and Exchange Commission and the supervisory stance on bank misconduct on the European Central Bank.
3. Why Governance Keeps Failing in Banks
Banks are heavily regulated, scrutinized by auditors, and subject to continuous reporting obligations. Why then do failures like ANZ keep recurring?
a. The Culture–Compliance Gap
Regulations can mandate risk frameworks, but they cannot manufacture integrity. If sales culture rewards aggressive growth over sustainable service, compliance becomes a check-the-box exercise.
b. Complexity as a Shield
Banks operate with vast product portfolios and IT systems. Complexity often conceals misconduct. Legacy systems in particular become “blind spots,” where errors multiply unnoticed—or are quietly tolerated.
c. Incentives and Short-Termism
Executive pay tied to quarterly results fosters a tolerance for risks that will only surface later. The ANZ fine reflects years of misconduct tolerated because the immediate costs of fixing the issues were deemed greater than the risks of inaction.
d. Weak Oversight Mechanisms
Boards of directors often lack the technical expertise or courage to probe too deeply into risk reports. Audit committees receive reams of information, but unless they ask the hard questions, red flags remain buried.
Read more from OECD on banking culture governance and the World Bank on financial sector governance.
4. Reporting, Disclosure, and Annual Reports
From an annual reporting perspective, the ANZ case highlights a critical weakness: risk disclosures were insufficiently specific.
Under IFRS, banks must disclose operational risks, contingencies, and material uncertainties. Yet too often, risk disclosures in annual reports read like boilerplate: “We face risks relating to compliance, IT systems, and customer conduct.”
Investors need more than boilerplate. They need clarity about:
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The extent of system weaknesses and whether they are being remediated.
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Provisions for misconduct – under IAS 37, companies must recognize provisions when an obligation is probable and measurable. Were provisions adequate at ANZ?
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Going concern assumptions – while ANZ’s survival was never in doubt, its reputation and franchise value were materially impaired.
This case underscores that transparency in annual reporting is not a compliance exercise but a governance responsibility.
Read more on the IFRS 18 documentation and fair presentation principle requirement issued by the IFRS Foundation.
5. Regulatory and Legal Dimensions
The AUD 240m fine is record-breaking for ASIC, but the regulator emphasized deterrence as much as punishment. Its message was clear: financial institutions that betray trust will face unprecedented sanctions.
Internationally, we see similar shifts:
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In the US, the Department of Justice increasingly demands independent compliance monitors as part of settlements.
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In Europe, the European Central Bank (ECB) has intensified its fit-and-proper tests for bank directors.
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Under CSRD and ESRS, European institutions will be forced to disclose not just financial risks but conduct and culture risks tied to sustainability and governance.
ANZ is therefore not an isolated cautionary tale. It is part of a global trend toward regulators holding boards personally accountable for systemic misconduct.
Read more on international misconduct and financial stability by the Financial Stability Board or the Australian supervision and culture reviews by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.
6. Lessons Through the Lens of COSO and IFRS
The ANZ scandal can be dissected using familiar frameworks:
COSO Internal Control Framework
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Control environment – Failed: leadership did not enforce ethical standards.
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Risk assessment – Failed: system errors known but unremediated.
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Control activities – Failed: monitoring of customer charges was inadequate.
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Information & communication – Failed: regulators misled.
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Monitoring activities – Failed: internal audit and board oversight insufficient.
Read more on the COSO Internal Control Framework and Enterprise Risk Management in our blog.
IFRS and Reporting Standards
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IAS 37 (Provisions, Contingent Liabilities, and Contingent Assets): Were provisions for customer remediation understated?
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IFRS 7 (Financial Instruments: Disclosures): Did risk disclosures truly capture operational and compliance risk exposure?
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IFRS 18 (Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements): Although IFRS 18 replaces IAS 1 from 2027 onwards, it retains the long-standing requirement of fair presentation. This means that even if ANZ’s financial statements complied formally with disclosure requirements, they may still fall short if management knowingly withheld information material to stakeholders’ understanding of risks and misconduct.
The case forces accountants, auditors, and preparers to reconsider whether compliance with the “letter of IFRS” is enough when the spirit of transparency is violated.
7. Investors and Stakeholders: Trust on Trial
For investors, trust is the currency of financial markets. The ANZ scandal highlights how non-financial risks can quickly crystallize into financial losses.
Institutional investors increasingly screen for governance quality. The ANZ fine will feature prominently in ESG ratings, proxy advisory reports, and shareholder activism. Some may argue that investors should have seen this coming from patterns of complaints, whistleblower reports, or weak IT investments.
The lesson: annual reporting must integrate financial and non-financial signals to present a true picture of long-term value.
Read more on research on trust, misconduct, and systemic risk on the Bank for International Settlements.
8. The Broader Australian Context
Australia has seen a series of banking scandals in recent years, prompting the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry (2017–2019). That commission found “systemic misconduct” across major banks, driven by greed and poor governance.
The ANZ fine demonstrates that lessons from the Royal Commission were not fully absorbed. Despite promises of cultural change, misconduct persisted. Regulators have responded with stronger enforcement, but the deeper issue—corporate culture misaligned with customer trust—remains.
Read more on this subject in Australian banking sector review on the Reserve Bank of Australia.
9. What Boards and Audit Committees Must Do
Boards cannot simply delegate compliance to management. The ANZ case sets new expectations:
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Demand specific disclosures – not vague assurances.
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Tie executive pay to long-term trust metrics, not just financial results.
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Invest in IT and control systems rather than deferring costly upgrades.
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Empower whistleblowers and ensure complaints reach the boardroom.
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Challenge management narratives with independent data (e.g., customer complaints, regulator feedback).
In short: boards must act as the conscience of the organization.
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10. Looking Ahead: From Compliance to Trust
The ANZ case should be a turning point. Compliance is necessary, but not sufficient. What matters is whether stakeholders believe that the institution is acting in good faith.
Annual reports of the future—under IFRS 18, CSRD, and integrated reporting standards—must therefore evolve. They must:
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Show how governance frameworks actually work in practice.
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Report on culture and conduct risks with the same seriousness as financial risks.
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Demonstrate remediation timelines for control failures.
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Include assurance on non-financial disclosures to rebuild confidence.
Banks that treat annual reporting as a storytelling exercise will continue to stumble. Those that treat it as a governance nerve center will rebuild trust.
ANZ Bank misconduct fine 2025 conclusion: A Warning Signal for Global Finance
The AUD 240 million fine imposed on ANZ Bank is more than an Australian headline. It is a global governance signal: even the most sophisticated banks can be brought down by misconduct if culture, oversight, and reporting are weak.
For accountants, auditors, regulators, and investors, the message is equally clear: annual reporting must not be a glossy façade. It must be an honest mirror.
Trust, once betrayed, takes decades to rebuild. The ANZ scandal reminds us that governance is not about compliance checklists but about protecting the lifeblood of finance: credibility.
ANZ Bank misconduct fine 2025
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Why did ANZ Bank receive a record fine in 2025?
ANZ Bank was fined AUD 240 million by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) for widespread misconduct, including charging customers fees for services never provided, failing to fix known system errors, and misleading regulators. The case highlights serious governance and reporting failures.
What does the ANZ case mean for financial reporting under IFRS 18?
IFRS 18, which replaces IAS 1, retains the principle of fair presentation. This means companies must go beyond compliance checklists to provide transparent and honest disclosures. In ANZ’s case, investors were not adequately informed about systemic risks, raising questions about whether fair presentation was met in spirit.
How does the ANZ fine compare to other global banking scandals?
Similar cases include Wells Fargo in the US, Deutsche Bank in Germany, and Credit Suisse in Switzerland. Each involved governance breakdowns, weak risk culture, and insufficient reporting. The ANZ fine shows that even in highly regulated markets, misconduct can persist unless boards and auditors enforce stronger oversight.