The bank confirmed in a statement that it is continuing to cooperate with an investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission into historic trading practices in the Australian interbank market.

ANZ said ASIC has been undertaking inquiries into 14 BBSW panel bank members in relation to previous BBSW submissions since mid-2012. ANZ has also been undertaking its own internal review covering a period ending in 2013.

“We have been treating this matter very seriously and we are continuing to cooperate fully with ASIC. This is a complex issue and ASIC’s investigation and ANZ’s internal review may not be complete for some time,” said ANZ chief risk officer Nigel Williams.

“In light of this, we are taking the precaution of having seven staff involved in markets trading step down pending completion of the investigation into practices to 2013,” Williams added.

ANZ said it was not appropriate to comment further pending the completion of the investigation.

Earlier this year, ASIC censured BNP Paribas, which agreed to pay A$1 million ($860,000) towards financial literacy products in relation to potential misconduct involving the BBSW. The regulator has also censured Royal Bank of Scotland, which paid A$1.6 million towards financial literacy projects in Australia, while UBS agreed to pay A$1 million in December last year.

Australia became the first major market to dismantle its interbank lending system in 2013 after a number of firms decided to leave following allegations of corruption.