On Friday, the regulator said problems in ANZ’s markets business had raised concerns following the bank’s admission of misreporting bond trading data to the government’s debt agency in 2022-23. and the subsequent internal investigation that led to the suspension and termination.

But the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) noted that although ANZ had launched several investigations into these matters, they “raise prudential concerns that ANZ has not yet adequately addressed deficiencies in controls, risk culture, governance and accountability”.

In addition to imposing a $250 million capital charge on ANZ, the regulator ordered the bank to appoint an independent party to review the root causes of the recent problems, assess risk management in the markets business and develop a remediation plan.

“ANZ is financially sound with strong capital and liquidity levels. However, weaknesses in the management of non-financial risk can lead to detrimental financial impacts and APRA has no tolerance for the continuation of such weaknesses,” APRA Chairman John Lonsdale said.

This is not the first time ANZ has implemented a capital supplement. Already in 2019. APRA imposed a $500 million operational risk capital allowance on the bank to reflect deficiencies in its risk management.

“Of the major banks that had capital supplements implemented in 2019, ANZ is the only bank that has yet removed or reduced its supplements. While the bank has implemented actions to improve its risk management and culture over the past five years, these recent issues show that there remain significant gaps that need to be closed as a matter of priority,” Lonsdale said.

"We have communicated our clear expectation to the ANZ board and executive team that these issues need to be urgently reviewed to ensure the underlying drivers are identified and addressed."

The chairman added that depending on the results of ANZ's independent review, APRA would consider whether further action was necessary.

In a statement filed with the ASX, ANZ said it "acknowledges APRA's concerns and is accelerating the work already underway to address the issues raised".

"This includes work with APRA on the scope of an independent review of culture and controls within its market business, which has already commenced and will report to the board."