ANZ undercharging for retail banking

ANZ is the last of the big four to make changes to its policy on exception fees. The other three have responded to overwhelming consumer dissatisfaction on this issue, and adverse changes to consumer laws, by removing or reducing fees for late payments and over-limit spending.

At yesterday's quarterly update ANZ chief executive Mike Smith was asked what the bank planned to do. In a surprising response he said: "We have been undercharging for some products and less than transparent on others. We will be doing something about that.

"I understand why fees attract criticism. Where they are charged when people did not realise they would attract them, we have got to do a better job."

The bank's media unit was not able to shed any light on what products the chief executive was talking about when he said the bank was undercharging.

Is it possible that the bank that invented the $5 a month flat fee transaction account is about to scrap it?