Watchdog hits ANZ with record $240 million fine over 'years' of misconduct

ANZ has agreed to a record $240 million fine sought by Australia's financial services watchdog over years of "unconscionable conduct".

ASIC and ANZ will ask the federal court to impose the penalties in relation to four separate proceedings.

These include acting "unconscionably" in dealing with the Australian government while managing a $14 billion bond deal, and incorrectly reporting its bond trading data to the government by overstating the volumes by tens of billions of dollars over almost two years.

ASIC also accused ANZ of failing to respond to hundreds of customer hardship notices, in some cases for more than two years, and of failing to have proper hardship processes in place.

ANZ is also accused of making "false and misleading" statements about its savings interest rates, and