ANZ has copped a $240 million fine and sharp criticism by the regulator for widespread misconduct. Photo: Darren England/AAP PHOTOS

A major Australian bank will cough up $240 million in fines for "widespread misconduct" as it vows to hold executives accountable.

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ANZ has admitted to failing to respond to hundreds of notices about customer hardship, making false and misleading statements about its savings interest rates and failing to pay those amounts to customers.

Two bonus interest issues, one dating back to 2013, affected 251,000 customers.

The financial services watchdog also s

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