ANZ Appeals Court Decision over Troubled 2015 Share Placement Worth $1.7 Billion

Australia’s ANZ Group announced on Thursday that it had appealed a Federal Court decision that found the lender guilty of not disclosing that its underwriters had bought nearly one-third of a share issue worth A$2.5 billion ($1.68 billion) in 2015. The troubled 2015 share placement was worth $1.7 billion.

The Government Court in October viewed the country’s third-biggest bank to be liable of violating divulgence regulations by neglecting to advise the market that between A$754 million and A$791 million of the offers were procured by its financiers as opposed to being set with financial backers.

In September 2018, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission filed a lawsuit against ANZ over the issue, and in June 2018, the competition regulator brought criminal cartel charges against the lender and its two investment banks, Deutsche Bank AG and Citigroup Inc.

The Australian Contest and Shopper Commission, in any case, pulled out its claim in February 2022, referring to there could have been “as of now not sensible possibilities of conviction”.

In addition, ANZ was assessed a civil penalty of A$900,000 as a result of the October court decision.

ANZ said on Thursday it doesn’t expect to give any further remarks right now.