Pointing to Westpac’s progress in risk governance since it was targeted by AUSTRAC for systemic failures five years ago, the prudential watchdog has said it will halve a $1 billion capital requirement.
The Federal Court must guard against “exceptions by accretion” when weighing Westpac’s application to prevent the public from accessing documents filed in a lawsuit by the bank’s former head of strategy, which has resolved in a confidential settlement, a judge heard Wednesday.
Despite arguing for suppression as a means only to successful mediation, Westpac now wants a settled employment case brought by an executive kept under lock and key. And in a worrying sign the Federal Court may have lost sight of the importance of open justice, a judge has indicated she would entertain an order that the suit never see the light of day.
Westpac has won its case against the owner of a fruit stand in Sydney’s Flemington Markets over a fraudulent scheme perpetrated using a $15 million invoice discounting facility provided by the bank.
Westpac subsidiary RAMS has flagged a cross-claim against disgruntled franchisees who say their agreements were terminated without proper cause, citing possible breaches of the National Credit Act.
Westpac subsidiary RAMs has been hit with a class action by former franchisees who say their agreements with the home loan provider were terminated without proper cause.
Westpac subsidiary BT Funds Management and Tal Life Insurance have foreshadowed applications to strike out the pleadings of a class action alleging superannuation customers were overcharged for insurance coverage.
A judge has reluctantly hit Westpac with a $1.8 million penalty after the bank admitted to unconscionable conduct when trading on the morning of a $16 billion deal to privatise electricity provider Ausgrid, saying it was the maximum fine allowed under the relevant law.
A judge’s decision to chop $810,000 from the funder’s cut of a settled class action against Westpac sounds a warning to class action litigators that when it comes to determining the size of a commission, case budgets matter.
A $29.95 million settlement resolving a superannuation class action against two Westpac units has won court approval. The judge overseeing the case has also indicated he will OK the litigation funder’s commission but only some of its after-the-event insurance premium.