ANZ Bank Pays $3.25 Million Penalty for Misleading New Zealand Customers

The actions related to overdraft fees, excess interest, and clawbacks of mortgage incentive payments. Over 200,000 customers were affected.

People walk past an ANZ Bank in Melbourne, Australia, on Oct. 28, 2021. William West/ Getty Images

ANZ Bank’s New Zealand operation has agreed to pay a $3.25 million (US$1.92 million) penalty after admitting it twice breached fair dealing laws. The agreement was reached after an investigation by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA).

The first breach involved wrongly charging fees and interest to customers whose accounts went into arrears without first having applied for an overdraft facility—what banks call an “unarranged overdraft.”