Bendigo and Adelaide Bank probe flags money laundering, terrorism financing control gaps (updated)

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank

25/11/2025 01:33

Adds share moves in paragraph 3, analyst comments in paragraph 6

By Roshan Thomas and Nikita Maria Jino

Nov 25 (Reuters) - Bendigo and Adelaide Bank's BEN.AX anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing controls were found to have deficiencies impacting key areas of its risk management framework, extending beyond one branch, the lender said.

The findings were part of an investigation conducted by Deloitte into suspicious activity indicative of money laundering at one of the bank's branches, the bank said in a statement on Tuesday.

Shares of the bank fell 8.4% to A$10.08, their lowest since April 11, making them the top laggards on the financials sub-index .AXFJ, which was down 0.9%, as of 0115 GMT.

Deloitte concluded that deficiencies existed in the bank's approach to identifying, mitigating, and managing money laundering, and terrorism financing risks.

The review covered activity at the branch between August 1, 2019, and August 1, 2025, and assessed the nature and scope of issues at the branch, along with any related systemic shortcomings.

Any findings of potential malpractice could raise further questions and trigger institutional selling, putting significant near-term pressure on the stock, even if a recovery remained possible later, said Jessica Amir, a market strategist at moomoo.

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank said its board was "very disappointed" with the findings, and is committed to improving systems, processes, and frameworks to meet its obligations under Australia's Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006.

The bank had engaged Deloitte in August 2025 after identifying and reporting the matter to the country's financial intelligence agency, AUSTRAC, and law enforcement.

 (Reporting by Roshan Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore and Rashmi Aich)

 ((Roshan.Thomas@thomsonreuters.com;))