Macquarie Bank has been ordered by the Federal Court to pay a penalty of A$10 million for its failure to adequately monitor third-party fee transactions on customer accounts. This failure led to unauthorised fee withdrawals totalling around A$2.9 million, impacting several customer cash management accounts.
While Macquarie eventually implemented effective controls starting from January 2020, earlier lapses allowed financial adviser Ross Hopkins to fraudulently withdraw significant sums without detection. Although Macquarie initially defended its actions, it later admitted to contravening its obligations, resulting in the agreed penalty of A$10 million.
Hopkins has been sentenced to six years' imprisonment and permanently banned from providing financial services or controlling a financial services business following Asic's investigation and prosecution referral.
Fonterra has officially appointed Anna Palairet as chief operating officer, solidifying her role after serving as the interim since June 2023.
Before her tenure at Fonterra, Palairet held several senior leadership positions at Air New Zealand and was the director of Global Supply Chain at Fonterra. She also serves as the chair of Kotahi Logistics.
Chief executive Miles Hurrell praised Palairet's extensive experience in operations, customer relations, sustainability, and sales.
“I thank Anna for her leadership to date and look forward to her ongoing contribution to the Fonterra management team,” said Hurrell.