The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) was slapped with a $240 million fine from the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) on Monday, after admitting to a number of financial wrongdoings. The news comes just days after the major bank revealed it would cut some 3,500 jobs over the course of the next year under new Chief Executive Officer Nuno Matos.
Now, the Finance Sector Union (FSU) has lodged a dispute with Australia’s workplace relations tribunal Fair Work Commission for failing to properly consult staff and calling for urgent intervention.
"ANZ is a bank in crisis," said FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano. "Fined $240 million by ASIC for its misconduct, and now betraying 3,500 workers with bungled job cuts and secrecy. Thousands of families are left in the dark while executives protect their bonuses.
"ANZ calls this a restructure, but to workers it feels like chaos," Angrisano continued. "Families are left in limbo, staff are blindsided and whole communities will feel the impact when thousands of secure jobs disappear.
The major bank admitted to a number of transgressions across its institutional and retail divisions, including "unconscionable conduct" for services provided to the Australian government, falsely reporting bond trading volumes by tens of billions of dollars and other misconduct across retail products and services over a number of years.
With this latest $240 million fine — the largest penalty ASIC has ever brought against a single entity — the regulatory body has brought 11 civil penalty proceedings against ANZ since 2016, racking up more than $310 million in fines.
“Three banks have slashed jobs in less than a week and now ANZ has been hit with the largest penalty in Australian banking history," Angrisano said, referring to announcements from National Australia Bank (NAB) and Bendigo Bank earlier this month. Both lenders revealed plans to eliminate redundancies. "It paints a picture of an industry that’s out of control and desperately needs stronger regulation."
It's unclear how many brokers will be impacted by the changes at ANZ. But a source told Australian Broker that the cuts are aimed more at reducing inefficiencies in ANZ's head office than targeting broker roles.
An ANZ spokesperson told Australian Broker: "ANZ has consistently engaged with our staff and the union on our proposed organisational changes. We are confident we have met all of our consultation obligations."
But Matos said Monday, “The failings outlined are simply not good enough and they reinforce the case for change. It is my expectation that we see measurable improvements across the bank to better protect and care for our customers and to create a more sustainable business.
“We have fast-tracked work to significantly improve our management of non-financial risk across the ANZ Group," the CEO added.
