ANZ to pay $68 million to settle two Reuters class actions

(Reuters) – Australian lender ANZ said on Friday it would pay a combined A$99 million ($67.76 million) to settle two class actions brought against it in 2020.

The first class action was brought on behalf of people who took out car loans issued under ANZ’s credit license between 2011 and March 2016, alleging that “flex fees” were paid to ANZ-accredited car dealers by the lender.

Flex (NASDAQ: ) fee arrangements allowed car dealers to set the interest rate and terms of auto loans. The higher the interest rate and the longer the loan term, the higher the dealer’s commission.

These fee arrangements were banned by Australia’s securities regulator on November 1, 2018. The company will pay $85 million to settle the auto loan class action.

The other class action was brought on behalf of members of ANZ and its former unit OnePath Pension Products, alleging the pension fund manager breached its obligations to members by charging excessive fees to pay unnecessary fees to financial advisers.

The lender will pay $14 million to settle the retirement class action.

“The agreements are without admission of liability and each remains subject to court approval,” ANZ said in a statement.

($1 = 1.4611 Australian dollars)