Australia to charge ANZ, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank over 2015 stock placement
Sydney — Australia is preparing criminal cartel charges against the country’s third-biggest bank and underwriters Deutsche Bank and Citigroup over a $2.3bn share issue, in an unprecedented move with potential implications for global capital markets. The pending charges, which can carry hefty fines and 10-year prison terms, threaten to change the way institutional capital raisings are handled, and do further damage to the reputation of Australian lenders already mired in scandal. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said federal prosecutors would charge Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), its treasurer, Rick Moscati, the two investment banks and several more unnamed individuals over the 2015 stock placement. All three banks denied wrongdoing and vowed to defend the charges, with Citigroup saying the regulator was effectively criminalising practices long seen as the norm in the financial industry. "The charges will involve alleged cartel arrangements re...
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