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ANZ bank is to pay out $3 million following an investigation which found that it had failed to provide annual reviews to more than 10,000 customers who had paid for them.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said today that it had accepted an enforceable undertaking (EU) from ANZ following the probe, which revealed the bank’s failure to provide documented reviews for some of its ‘Prime Access’ customers between the period of 2006 to 2013.
Under the EU, ANZ, which also provides a range of insurance products, will be required to provide audited attestations from senior management showing that it has made improvements to compliance systems and processes, as well offering ‘reasonable assurance’ that the bank has provided documented annual reviews to entitled customers since 2014.
In addition to the EU, ANZ has also agreed to compensate customers who did not receive the documented annual reviews that they were entitled to during the specified period.
The compensation program, which is nearing completion, had seen ANZ pay out $46.81 million including earnings as of February 28, 2018, with the total compensation estimated at $46.85 million, ASIC said.
“Our report into fees for no service in October 2016 identified the major financial institutions’ systemic failures in this area, which required affected customers to be fairly compensated and to be provided with the services that they have paid for,” ASIC deputy chair, Peter Kell, said in a statement.
“ASIC considered it critically important that improved systems and procedures be put in place to ensure this breach of trust could not re-occur. This enforceable undertaking with ANZ will deliver on that commitment,” he continued.
The EU will also require ANZ to show that the design and implementation of its improved systems and processes will “seek to ensure documented annual reviews are provided in accordance with the ANZ Prime Access package.”
