简体中文
繁體中文
English
Pусский
日本語
ภาษาไทย
Tiếng Việt
Bahasa Indonesia
Español
हिन्दी
Filippiiniläinen
Français
Deutsch
Português
Türkçe
한국어
العربية
Abstract:Westpac, a major Australian bank and financial services provider, has been ordered by a federal court to pay a penalty of AU$113 million (around $82.9 million) for compliance failures across multiple business units.
The bank charged services fees to over 11,800 deceased customers.
The judge said that the bank “systemically” failed to address the lapses.
Take Advantage of the Biggest Financial Event in London.
Announced on Friday, the court decision came on six separate civil proceedings against the bank filed by the Australian financial market supervisor, ASIC, last November.
Systemic Lapses
The major compliance breaches by the bank include charging advice fees to over 11,800 deceased customers for financial advice services and distributing duplicate insurance policies to over 7,000 customers. For the first, it was penalized with AU$40 million, whereas it need to pay $15 million for the other offense.
The bank also charged ongoing contribution fees for financial advice to retail customers without any proper disclosure. In the past eight years, it charged at least AU$10.6 million to more than 25,000 customer accounts without providing any disclosure. For this, the bank has been penalized to pay AU$6 million.
Further, Westpac allowed around 21,000 deregistered company accounts with AU$120 million in fund holdings to remain open. These funds should have been remitted to the ASIC or the Commonwealth, but the bank allowed withdrawals. The court found that the bank was aware of its system flaws but did not fix them and continued to benefit from them. Now, it needs to pay AU$20 million for this lapse.
The court also slapped further AU$12 million and AU$20 million penalties separately for debt on sale and insurance superannuation lapses, respectively.
“The breaches found by the Court in these six cases demonstrate a profound failure by Westpac over many years and across many areas of its business to implement appropriate systems and processes to ensure its customers were treated fairly,” said ASICs Deputy Chair, Sarah Court.
“Consumer harm caused by systems failures is unacceptable. Financial institutions must invest in systems that allow them to meet their obligations to customers.”
Meanwhile, Westpac is not a stranger to such hefty fines for non-compliance measures. In 2020, the bank agreed to pay AU1.3 billion as a fine for several non-compliance allegations brought by the ASIC.
Disclaimer:
The views in this article only represent the author's personal views, and do not constitute investment advice on this platform. This platform does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness and timeliness of the information in the article, and will not be liable for any loss caused by the use of or reliance on the information in the article.
In the world of online trading, a common misconception persists: trading is often seen as no different from gambling. This belief is particularly prevalent among newcomers, who may view the financial markets as a fast-paced game where winning is just a matter of luck. But trading, when done correctly, is far from mere chance!
Saxo Singapore will discontinue SaxoWealthCare and SaxoSelect by December 2024, advising clients to withdraw funds and offering alternative investment options.
Spartan Capital Securities, LLC, a brokerage firm, has agreed to a settlement with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), which includes a fine of $115,000, a censure, and the requirement to retain an independent consultant.
TradingView adds Irish stocks from Euronext Dublin, broadening access to 30 companies, including Ryanair and Kerry Group.