ANZ bank boss Nuno Matos to face parliamentary grilling for ripping off customers

ANZ chief executive Nuno Matos will be grilled by a parliamentary committee as the bank faces a record $240 million penalty for widespread misconduct.

The corporate regulator has accused ANZ of mishandling a bond sale, potentially costing the Federal Government $26 million, as well as misconduct against nearly 65,000 retail customers.

The bank has agreed to cop the penalty - the largest ever imposed on a single entity by the regulator - which the Federal Court will need to approve.

ANZ incorrectly reported bond trading data to the government by tens of billions of dollars.

It’s also accused of failing to refund fees charged to thousands of customers who had died.

The bank maintained the Government lost nothing in the bond sale and said while ANZ breached some of its licensing obligations, it was not accused of market manipulation or over-hedging.

Despite that fine being the highest in ASIC’s history, committee chair Ed Husic said the bank got off lightly.

“It should have been higher,” the Labor MP told AAP.

ANZ also announced in 2025 it is slashing its workforce by eight per cent across its institutional and retail divisions.

National Australia Bank chief executive Andrew Irvine will also appear before the committee after Commonwealth and Westpac bosses were grilled.

Surcharges on card payments and the Government’s five per cent deposit home loan scheme were on the agenda in Canberra on Tuesday.

The inquiry heard the Reserve Bank was reviewing the nation’s payment system and suggested removing surcharges on eftpos, Mastercard and Visa cards, which would save consumers more than $1 billion a year.

Commonwealth Bank chief executive Matt Comyn said he supported the proposal “in essence”, but urged the RBA not to be too hasty with the changes.