Macquarie faces $14 million penalty over savings rate promotion failures
Macquarie Bank has admitted failures in the way it promoted a welcome interest rate for new savings account customers, in a case brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The bank has acknowledged breaching the Corporations Act and could face a $14 million penalty if the proposed settlement is approved by the New South Wales Supreme Court. The case centres on how the promotional rate was described to customers and whether that wording was misleading.
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According to the regulator, Macquarie referred to the offer as a "welcome variable rate" and a "bonus", language that could have suggested the rate was paid on top of the standard variable rate. In practice, the Welcome Rate generally operated as a fixed rate that applied instead of, rather than in addition to, the standard rate during the four-month promotional period. The parties have jointly proposed the penalty to the court, which will determine whether to approve it.
The proposed fine comes after Macquarie initiated remediation worth $8.8 million, which has already been paid to nearly 40,000 customers. That figure indicates the scale of the issue and the number of account holders affected by the promotion. The case adds to scrutiny of how banks market deposit products and explain interest-rate terms to retail customers.
The matter is significant because savings rates are a key part of competition for household deposits, especially when customers are comparing offers across major banks. Clear disclosure is central to consumer trust in banking products, and regulators have increasingly focused on whether financial institutions present promotional rates in a way that is easy to understand. A court-approved penalty would also reinforce the consequences of misleading conduct in retail banking.
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Macquarie is one of Australia's major banks, and the proceedings place its customer communications under formal legal scrutiny. ASIC's case is focused on the promotion of the welcome rate rather than on the broader structure of the bank's savings products. The admitted breaches and proposed penalty suggest the dispute has moved beyond investigation into a stage where the court is being asked to formalise the outcome.
What remains unclear is whether the New South Wales Supreme Court will approve the jointly proposed penalty in full. It is also not yet clear whether the case will lead to any further regulatory action beyond the remediation already completed. The next development to watch is the court's response and whether the ruling sets a wider benchmark for how banks must describe promotional interest rates.
