ASIC has announced that Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) has paid penalties totalling $212,500 in payment of five separate infringement notices for breaching responsible lending laws in making offers of overdraft facilities to its customers.

National Consumer Credit Regulation 28JA requires a credit licensee to make reasonable inquiries about the maximum credit limit that a consumer requires.

Between November 2014 and January 2015, ANZ sent written offers to certain existing customers to enter into the overdraft facility called ‘ANZ Assured’ with a specified limit of either $500 or $1,000. Customers could accept the offers via various means: by mail, phone, internet banking or by attending at a branch in person.

ASIC found that:

• for offers of a $500 limit, customers were not given an option to elect a different overdraft amount; and
• for offers of a $1,000 limit, customers were not given an alternative limit option if they responded to the offer via mail or in person at a branch.

ASIC determined that ANZ was in breach of its obligation to make reasonable inquiries about the credit limit a customer required.