Australian banks’ record fines for compliance failures highlight role of culture in compliance

Two of the biggest banks in Australia are under fire for major compliance and cultural failings. ANZ and National Australia Bank (NAB) are facing intense scrutiny over misconduct ranging from mistreating customers to underpaying staff.

Australian banks are in the news – for all the wrong reasons. On Sept. 15, Reuters reported that ANZ Bank agreed to pay a record $240 million Australian dollars ($160M) fine for “systemic” failures ranging from “acting unconscionably” in a government bond to charging dead customers. This followed the news that  NAB was facing an AUS$130M ($87M) hit for underpaying staff on Aug 18. NAB, meanwhile, has already paid fines totalling AUS$250m ($167M) between 2020 and 2022 after a payroll review identified that it was underpaying employees.

These cases highlight a wider pattern of costly compliance and cultural failings across the global banking sector, where fines and penalties continue to escalate. They underscore how banks’ internal controls, risk management practices, and workplace cultures are under increasing scrutiny from regulators worldwide.