September 27, 2012

CFTC Orders Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. to Pay $350,000 Penalty for Violating Wheat and Cotton Futures Speculative Position Limits

Washington, DC - The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced the filing and simultaneous settlement of charges against Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ), an Australia-based financial services company, for exceeding speculative position limits in wheat and cotton futures contracts in trading on the Chicago Board of Trade and the IntercontinentalExchange U.S. (ICE Futures US). The CFTC order requires ANZ to pay a $350,000 civil monetary penalty and cease and desist from further violations of the position limits provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations.

The CFTC order, filed on September 26, 2012, finds that on multiple occasions in August 2010, ANZ held net positions that exceeded the all-months speculative position limit of 6,500 contracts for wheat futures traded on the Chicago Board of Trade. The CFTC order also finds that on one day in February 2011, ANZ held a net short position in excess of the 5,000 contracts all-months speculative position limit for Cotton No. 2 futures traded on ICE Futures US.

CFTC Division of Enforcement staff members responsible for this case are Lara Turcik, Manal M. Sultan, Lenel Hickson, Jr., Stephen J. Obie, and Vincent A. McGonagle.

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Last Updated: September 27, 2012