In an announcement made late on Friday, NAB admitted that on 12 occasions between 2010 and 2011 its employees “attempted to engage in unconscionable conduct in breach of the ASIC Act”.
The settlement will see NAB fork out a $10 million penalty, cover ASIC’s costs of $20 million and donate $20 million to an ASIC-nominated financial consumer protection fund – all of which will be reflected in its 2017 financial year results.
NAB is the second of three major banks to settle with ASIC following claims of rigging the bank bill swap rate (BBSW). ANZ has already settled, leaving Westpac as the last bank remaining defending the court case.
Commenting on the settlement, NAB group chief executive Andrew Thorburn said the way BBSW was calculated “had changed since that time”.
“We accept we did not meet the high standards of professional conduct that ASIC, the community and NAB expects of itself, in that market during that period,” Mr Thorburn said.
“The ASX is now responsible for the administration of BBSW and NAB fully supports the reforms that are being introduced by the ASX to enhance trust and transparency in the BBSW market.
