The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has declined to comment on a news report it is investigating ANZ Group Holding for allegedly charging fees on the accounts of customers who had died.
“ASIC doesn’t have any comment to make regarding whether or not an investigation is underway,” an ASIC spokesperson told Azzet.
ANZ Group referred questions about the investigation to ASIC, with a spokesman saying: "Like all financial services organisations, we are in constant dialogue with regulators about a variety of matters and any questions on specifics should be directed to ASIC.”
The newspaper reported that ASIC was considering taking action against ANZ over allegations its retail bank imposed fees on the accounts of almost 20,000 dead customers and failed to correct system problems fast enough.
At the core of the allegation is that the bank did not respond to the representatives of deceased estates within a required 14-day period.
The news comes less than a week after ANZ announced that long time Chief Executive Officer Shane Elliott would be replaced by HSBC Holdings executive Nuno Matos on 3 July 2025.
The retail division of ANZ which is the subject of the allegations is led by Maile Carnegie, who was one of the executives passed over for the CEO role.
It also comes ahead of ANZ’s annual general meeting on Thursday in Melbourne where the board and Elliott would be expected to face questions about this and other issues acing the bank.
This includes an ASIC investigation over ANZ’s role as lead manager of an Australian Government bond issue in 2023 and media reports that the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has criticised its risk management.
ANZ (ASX: ANZ) shares closed on Tuesday at A$29.42, capitalising the Big Four bank at $87.6 billion, having fallen by more than $3 over the last month.
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