ING Bank Australia suffered significant setbacks in 2022, with two regulators calling out compliance failings and a fall in the value of its home loan book in the second half of the year. And despite a high net promoter score, there was no growth in active customer numbers last year. The bank that once fancied itself as the pre-eminent challenger bank in the Australian market is now faced with challenges of its own. In November, the anti-money laundering watchdog AUSTRAC reported that ING was not fully compliant with the rules of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act and needed to take action to avoid contravening the Act in future. The ING Bank Australia Group (ING Bank Australia Ltd and ING Bank NV Sydney Branch) gave AUSTRAC an enforceable undertaking to improve its compliance with Australia’s AML/CTF laws. AUSTRAC chief executive Nicole Rose said in a statement that ING voluntarily reported the shortcomings and then AUSTRAC conducted its own investigation last year. “The resulting regulatory inquiries identified concerns in relation to ING’s AML/CTF program, monitoring systems and controls, and reporting to AUSTRAC,” Rose said. The enforceable undertaking requires the bank to overhaul its AML/CTF program, risk assessments, suspicious matter reporting and transaction monitoring. A month later, the ACCC announced that it had fined ING for allegedly failing to comply with Consumer Data Right rules and making false or misleading representations to consumers.  The ACCC said ING missed three legislated CDR data sharing deadlines and misled consumers about the reliability and security of its CDR service. “ING potentially denied its customers the full benefits of being able to use the CDR program,” the regulator said. The bank is addressing the shortcomings in its systems. ING chief executive Melanie Evans wrote in the bank’s 2022 annual report, which was released last week, that over the past year it had “focused on investing in core infrastructure and programs to ensure ING is well positioned to grow in a safe, secure and sustainable manner”. Evans mentioned the AUSTRAC matter in her comments but not the CDR issue. The bank’s other big problem is its shrinking home loan book. The value of the retail mortgage portfolio rose 2.1 per cent to A$55.4 billion in 2022, compared with system growth of 6.5 per cent over the same period. But in the second half of the year, as interest rates rose and competition for home lending intensified, ING’s book fell by more than 2 per cent. The annual report shows net interest income $1.3 billion – an increase of 16.5 per cent over 2021. Operating expenses rose 16.3 per cent to $593 million.  The bank reported a loan impairment benefit of $3 million, compared with a benefit of $67 million in 2021. The bank made a profit of $589 million for the year – up 7.3 per cent from $549 million in 2021. Part of the bank’s strategy in recent years has been to diversify its business, with more focus on business and “wholesale” lending. It had mixed results. The wholesale book grew 20 per cent to $9.7 billion, while the business banking book fell