Australia’s corporate watchdog has lost its bid to obtain Ashurst’s advice to Australia and New Zealand Banking Group about potentially illegal bank fees “for now”, but a judge has signalled that this may not be the end of the matter.
A former high-flying trader is taking ANZ to court alleging the bank dismissed him for making complaints about attempted manipulation of a key interest rate and not, as the bank claims, for his “offensive” chats with other traders.
Ashurst notified Australia and New Zealand Banking Group almost a decade ago about issues relating to its illegal fees, ASIC has told the Federal Court as it fights for documents from the law firm.
ANZ has denied claims that it sold allegedly worthless insurance to group members in a class action against the banking giant, and has said the policies gave customers “peace of mind”.
ASIC has launched a bid to gain access to legal advice provided by Ashurst to Australia and New Zealand Banking Group in the regulator’s case over $35 million in allegedly illegal bank fees.
The Big Four banks were trying to shore up their profits when they refused to pass on home loan interest rate cuts to consumers in full last year, an interim report of an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission inquiry has found.
Noting the challenge of searching for documentary evidence while employees are working from home, a judge overseeing two consumer class actions against ANZ and Westpac has directed the banks to hand over only a limited number of documents to the applicants, and given them extra time to do it.
For the lawyers conducting the committal hearings in the criminal cartel case over ANZ’s $2.5 billion equity raising, the Sydney Downing Centre courtroom was already too close for comfort.
Slater and Gordon has expanded its Get Your Insurance Back campaign, launching class actions against ANZ and Westpac over allegedly worthless consumer credit insurance, just three months after it reached a $49.5 million settlement with NAB in a class action over similar insurance.
An ACCC officer who was heading up a team investigating alleged cartel conduct by ANZ Banking Group and three investment banks has admitted that the regulator may have made an ‘oversight’ in a letter of comfort offered to JPMorgan ahead of the bank’s immunity application in the case.