The New Zealand Financial Markets Authority (FMA) reported that the High Court has imposed a final penalty of NZD 2.1 million on ASB Bank Limited for fair dealing breaches under the Financial Markets Conduct Act (FMCA) relating to its insurance products and banking services. ASB admitted making false and or misleading representations arising from process and system failures, including not correctly applying multi policy discounts on ASB branded insurance products and not applying fee exemptions for eligible FastNet Business customers. More than 25,000 customers were refunded approximately NZD 4.7 million. The judgment emphasised that penalties for system driven contraventions should incentivise adequate systems and processes and signal that manual processes without adequate quality assurance and proactive problem detection and escalation are unacceptable, while the FMA noted ASB’s cooperation, self reporting and remediation but cited the duration of the failings and delays in identification and escalation.
New Zealand Financial Markets Authority 2026-03-05
New Zealand Financial Markets Authority wins NZD 2.1 million High Court penalty against ASB for fair dealing breaches affecting over 25,000 customers
The New Zealand Financial Markets Authority announced the High Court fined ASB Bank Limited NZD 2.1 million for fair dealing breaches under the Financial Markets Conduct Act. ASB admitted to false and misleading representations due to system failures, affecting over 25,000 customers who were refunded approximately NZD 4.7 million. The court highlighted the need for robust systems and processes, noting ASB's cooperation but criticizing the delay in addressing the issues.