ANZ

ANZ has confirmed that senior executives could face consequences in an investigation led by Herbert Smith Freehills and Allens regarding concerns that it manipulated government bond sales last year. 

The ex-chair of former ANZ unit OnePath “has not been cooperating” in a class action alleging it breached its duties as a trustee of superannuation funds by slugging members with excessive fees to pay commissions to financial advisers, a court has heard. 

A New Zealand appeals court has ruled that common fund orders can be made in class actions, even at the early stages, departing from the High Court of Australia in finding the commercial viability of a proceeding enhances access to justice. 

Group members in a class action against ANZ over credit card interest charges that settled for $57.5 million are expected to take home at least 60 per cent of the settlement sum after legal fees and a funder’s commission are deducted.

ANZ has been hit with a sanction by the Banking Code Compliance Committee for failing to stop or refund fees charged to deceased estates after customer deaths, with the bank to pay over $3.2 million to impacted estates. 

ANZ has resolved a case brought by the bank’s former head of money markets, who claims he was fired for making complaints about sexual harassment by senior managers and false reporting to APRA.

A class action against ANZ and former subsidiary OnePath has been given the green light to “significantly expand” its case against the big four bank, over three years after the case was first filed.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is investigating ANZ’s dealings in its role as risk manager of 10-year government treasury bonds worth $14 billion. 

The ACCC’s rejection of a $4.9 billion merger between ANZ and Suncorp was hardly surprising given the concentrated nature of the home loans market, but the competition regulator faced an uphill battle in having the decision upheld, an expert says.

The ACCC’s decision to block a $4.9 billion merger between ANZ and Suncorp has been set aside, with a tribunal finding the transaction will not substantially lessen competition in the home loans market or for agribusiness and SME clients in Queensland.