As the banking royal commission dove deeper into farm finance at its hearings in Brisbane on Tuesday, central-west Queensland farmer Charlie Phillott was among several case studies investigated.

In March 2014, Mr Phillott and his family were ordered off his Carisbrooke Station, which he had run since 1960, after ANZ deemed it an "unviable risk".

His loan was one of 7124 loans ANZ acquired when it bought the Landmark loan book in 2010, worth $2.3 billion.

But the Phillott family fought back, and ANZ gave the farm back in 2015, with the bank's then chief executive Mike Smith apologising to the 81-year-old and personally returning the title deeds.

"I think people in the banks, those that are running them, have to change their tack, it's important that they treat people and their clients everywhere as human," Mr Phillott said outside the commission on Tuesday.

"They need to also... tailor their services to the rural industry."

ANZ head of lending services Benjamin Steinberg accepted the bank did not act fairly and reasonably in the Phillott case, fell below community standards and expectations, and breached certain clauses of the Banking Code of Practice.

"I think the dealings were consistent but I think they weren't fair and they weren't reasonable," he said.

Questioned by Commissioner Kenneth Hayne over whether the bank acted in an ethical manner, Mr Steinberg said: "It's fair to say we didn't."

More than one in 10 submissions to the royal commission about agricultural finance related to the ANZ acquisition of Landmark in 2010.

The commission also heard ANZ sent a default letter to a farmer just weeks after he had a heart attack.

Janine and Stephen Harley, whose family had owned their Western Australian for 100 years and who were former Landmark customers, had debts of about $2.5 million when their loans were bought by ANZ.

They were under financial pressure at the time, after several years of consecutive losses, but the bank made them a new offer of a $2.3 million loan in 2011.

Mr Harley had numerous health issues, including pneumonia, was unable to pay his debt despite attempts to sell his sheep and land, and had a heart attack in May 2013.

On May 11, Mrs Harley emailed the bank manager advising of the heart attack.

"I hope you can now understand the pressure we have been under in the last two years, trying to resolve our financial issues," she said.

Less than a month later, ANZ sent a default letter to the Harleys and asked them to sign a document which gave them six months to pay.

Mr Steinberg said it would have been better if the notice did not go out when it did, but the bank manager did pre-warn the Harleys' lawyer about the notice of default.

"Under our current culture, the focus is on having more empathy for our customers and giving them more time and more flexibility," he said.

Mr Steinberg also agreed ANZ's conduct in relation to Tasmanian cattle and lamb farmers Dimity and Michael Hirst between 2011 and 2013 fell below community standards and expectations, including that the bank raised interest rates and did not give the family a copy of the valuations.

Former Landmark customers Arthur and Rhonda Cheesman ended up losing their home and lentil farm in western Victoria, after the ANZ takeover.

In October 2010, the Cheesmans were given about two months to sell all their properties under an asset management agreement, but the family hoped to delay selling their homes and means of earning a living.

But ANZ pushed ahead with the plan, and later rejected four offers to settle the debt, before finally settling.

The royal commission heard an ANZ banker met with another unnamed farming family in Queensland in October 2011 to discuss debt reduction, on the same day the bank issued them with a default notice.

The hearing continues.