Macquarie Bank pays $8.8m to 40,000 savings account customers over ‘welcome rate’ failures

Australia’s fifth-largest bank is set to cop a $14 million fine and has so far paid out compensation to tens of thousands of account holders after admitting to failures over a savings rate offer it used to lure new customers.

Macquarie Bank conceded its welcome rate — variously described as a “welcome variable rate” and a “bonus rate” — contravened the Corporations Act 2001.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission launched legal action against the bank in the NSW Supreme Court, alleging the offer could lead customers to believe it was paid on top of the standard variable rate.

The welcome rate generally operated as a fixed rate that applied instead of, rather than in addition to, the standard rate during the four-month promotional period.

ASIC said Macquarie admitted its advertising framework during the promotion was not sufficiently rigorous to identify the risk that customers could misunderstand the offer. It also lacked clear internal guidance about how the product operated and customer complaints did not prompt a sufficiently timely correction.

“‘Banks must get the basics right, which includes having systems and processes that deliver on the promises they make to customers,” ASIC commissioner Alan Kirkland said.

“Customers should not have to scrutinise every transaction to check their bank has paid the correct interest or charged them correctly.

“This wasn’t just unclear wording. Macquarie’s systems and controls were not rigorous enough to identify the risk that customers would misunderstand how the welcome rate worked.

“‘At a time when Australians are contending with cost-of-living pressures, consumers deserve clear information about savings rates and the financial benefits they are promised.”

Ben Perham, Macquarie’s head of banking and financial services, said customers rightly have high expectations of the firm.

ASIC acknowledged Macquarie engaged constructively during its investigation.

“Although ASIC has acknowledged our actions were not deliberate, we should have better explained on our website how the welcome rate would be applied and we apologise for any confusion caused,” Mr Perham said.

Macquarie and ASIC have agreed a $14m penalty, which will need to be approved by the court.

The bank has so far paid out $8.8m in remediation to almost 40,000 customers.

The failures stemmed from a welcome rate advertised between December 2021 and September 2022.

As interest rates increased during 2022, the initial margin between the welcome rate and the standard variable rate could narrow or disappear.

If the standard rate rose above the welcome rate, the customer’s rate increased only to match the standard rate.

The penalty follows a slew of regulatory nightmares for the firm in various countries around the world in recent years.

Macquarie’s securities arm agreed to pay $35 million in late 2025 after admitting to systemic failures that resulted in millions of short sales being incorrectly reported over more than a decade.

In Europe, litigation has unfolded in connection to a long-running cum-ex tax scandal in Germany involving controversial dividend trades.