Briefs: ANZ and Macquarie face millions in fines over ringitt fixing, Bankwest launches Android Pay
The A$15 million fine levied by ASIC for Australia's biggest banks' attempted fixing of the Malaysian ringgit benchmark rate is not large enough for one Australian Federal Court judge. Both ANZ and Macquarie Bank last month admitted that three ANZ traders, Wei Ewen Chew, Wai Theng Hooi and Joo Heng Tan, and one Macquarie trader, Istvan Loh, based in Singapore, tried to manipulate the benchmark rate using the Bloomberg and Reuters chat rooms, the AFR reports. At a Federal Court hearing on Tuesday, Justice Michael Wigney said a fine of $900,000 for each breach of law was not sufficient, preferring to consider lifting the penalties to $3 million. If that sticks, the two banks face a maximum of $54 million in fines for 18 instances of attempted cartel conduct. Commonwealth Bank subsidiary Bankwest has launched an Android Pay service. It is the bank's first mobile payment offering. CBA does not offer Android Pay.