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ellington has seen many warnings over the years about weak governance in big institutions, yet we still seem surprised each time a major failure comes to light. The latest case involving ANZ in Australia should be hitting much closer to home. It is not just another overseas banking scandal. It is a signal that New Zealanders, especially here in the capital, should be asking harder questions of the country’s most profitable retail bank.

ANZ has admitted to a long list of serious failures across the Tasman. It overstated bond-trading volumes when dealing with the Australian Government. It ignored hundreds of hardship notices from struggling customers. It misled savers about bonus interest. It even failed to refund fees wrongly charged to deceased customers. These are not small lapses. These are deep problems inside a bank that holds enormous influence in New Zealand.

Regulators in Australia have also increased the capital the bank must hold because ANZ’s non-financial risk systems were judged too weak. A major review of the bank described a culture that avoids bad news and rewards silence. Staff felt pressure to “stay in their lane.” Problems were left to grow. Good headlines were preferred to tough decisions. If this behaviour had been found in a government department in Wellington, every MP would be calling for resignations.

Yet here, the public reaction is strangely quiet. Wellingtonians, who live close to both political power and regulatory power, should be the first to ask what these failures mean for New Zealand. ANZ NZ is not a small branch. It is a central pillar of our banking system and enjoys consistent government cooperation on bond raising, liquidity support, and financial settings. Some worry that this relationship has grown too comfortable. Others argue that the bank has been allowed to become so embedded in the system that accountability becomes harder.

You raised concerns about ANZ hiring high-profile journalists or former politicians to influence stories and maintain favour with government decision-makers. There is no public evidence proving that claim. But the concern behind it is real. When a bank becomes so powerful that it shapes the environment meant to keep it in check, the line between influence and control becomes dangerously thin. State capture does not happen overnight. It happens slowly, through trust that is never tested and scrutiny that fades.

There is also a Wellington twist to this story. The recent IPCA report into governance failures inside the New Zealand Police used language strikingly similar to the reports into ANZ and even ASB’s parent company years ago. Words like “poor oversight,” “weak challenge,” and “cultural complacency” appear again and again across sectors. It is a pattern we know too well. When systems stop asking hard questions, the cost eventually falls on the public.

For Wellingtonians, the risk is not only higher bank fees or reduced service. It is a loss of trust in the institutions that shape our daily lives. Our city relies on strong governance more than any other place in the country. When major players like ANZ show repeated failings overseas, we cannot assume the New Zealand arm is immune. We should expect transparency. We should expect reform. And we should expect our regulators to show their teeth, not their trust.

ANZ NZ says the issues in Australia will not affect its stability or its cost outlook. That may be true. But stability is not the same as integrity. A bank can be profitable and still have a broken culture. It can post record results and still fail the people who depend on it.

Wellington knows better than most that institutions must earn respect, not assume it. The ANZ story is not just an Australian problem. It is a wake-up call for New Zealand, and especially for the capital. It is time we paid attention.