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David Fickling

ANZ’s Bankers Were More Keystone Cops Than Criminal Cartel

The smartest guys here look to have been mom and pop investors.

The responsibility for clearing up the rules in financial markets should rest with legislators, not litigators. — The responsibility for clearing up the rules in financial markets should rest with legislators, not litigators.
Photographer: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg

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June 6, 2018, 5:38 AM UTC

What’s worse than calling a banker dishonest? Calling them stupid.

That may be the best defense of the former Citigroup Inc., Deutsche Bank AG and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. executives who’ve been charged with criminal cartel offenses over a 2015 placement of A$2.5 billion ($1.9 billion) of shares in the Melbourne-based lender.