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Confirmation of the first hearing date came as ANZ Bank shares dipped 0.2 per cent on Monday, in contrast to the rises in the shares of its three main rivals. ANZ shares also fell 1.5 per cent on Friday.

The cartel allegations centre on the banks' behaviour following the issue of new ANZ shares to institutional investors, when Citi, JPMorgan and Deutsche acted as underwriters and ended up holding almost $800 million in ANZ shares.

ANZ has said it is alleged to have been "knowingly concerned" in cartel conduct when the investment banks reached an "understanding" over how to offload the ANZ shares after the raising.

ANZ, Citi and Deutsche have all said they will defend the allegations. JPMorgan, which has declined to comment, is reportedly co-operating with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission,  the agency that investigated the conduct.

Companies face maximum penalties of 10 per cent of annual turnover, or three times the benefit gained from criminal cartel behaviour, while individuals can face up to 10 years' jail if they are found guilty.

Bell Potter analyst TS Lim estimated the potential penalties facing ANZ could be anywhere between $500 million and $2 billion, but despite the uncertainty, investors had downgraded the stock on the news on Friday.

"On Friday they wiped off $1.5 billion in market capitalisation. People shoot first and ask questions later," Mr Lim said.

Managing partner at Arnhem Investment Management, Mark Nathan, said he did not think the potential fine from the cartel allegations would be "material" for the ANZ, and would likely be less than the $700 million penalty facing Commonwealth Bank over its breaches of anti-money laundering laws.

"Bottom line, even if you look at the Austrac fine for CBA, where it's $700 million, it's unlikely to be that sort of number," Mr Nathan said.