ANZ Bank New Zealand will have to stump up with the largest settlement the Commerce Commission has ever reached with a single bank. The bank has signed a settlement agreement with the regulator admitting a breach of its responsible lending obligations, and has agreed to pay customers a further $29.4 million. In the Commission's first completed responsible lending case, the bank has admitted that when it provided loan variation information to more than 100,000 customers it failed to take the necessary care required of a responsible lender. ANZ has previously paid affected customers around $6 million as a result of the error but, following an investigation of its own, the Commission was able to obtain the further record payout for affected customers.The pain isn't over for ANZ. As part of the settlement, ANZ has agreed to admit in High Court proceedings that it engaged in conduct that breached its responsible lending obligations. The Commission is now seeking a High Court declaration that the bank's conduct breached the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act (CCCF Act).