A judge has approved a $5 million penalty against the Commonwealth Bank of Australia for overcharging customers $8 million in fees and interest on its agricultural products, despite previously expressing concerns that the penalty was “on the light side”.
A judge has questioned ASIC’s proposed $5 million penalty against the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, saying it was “on the light side” for the bank’s conduct in overcharging $8 million in fees on its agricultural products.
Former Dover Financial director Terry McMaster on Monday admitted to personally drafting a so-called client protection policy described by a judge as an “exercise in Orwellian doublespeak”, as the court heard evidence that the defunct financial firm ignored red flags raised by two law firms about the policy.
The Federal Court has granted ASIC a legal win against Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, finding that its small business loan contracts were unfair and created a “significant imbalance” that was likely to detriment customers.
Accepting that criminal proceedings were “on the cards” for accused Ponzi schemer Chris Marco, a judge has ordered the appointment of receivers to his assets and those of his company, AMS Holdings, saying there was a strong need for an independent assessment of the investment activities of the WA businessman.
Logistics company GetSwift and its directors have failed in a bid for a year-long delay of a trial scheduled to start next month in ASIC’s case alleging breaches of the Corporations Act, despite arguing that the procedural unfairness of a remote hearing gave the regulator a leg-up over the US-based company.
Cigno has appealed a ruling shooting down its challenge to the first action brought by ASIC under its powers to prohibit ‘predatory’ financial products, which targeted the payday lender’s model of short-term credit lending.
Dairy cooperative Murray Goulburn has launched proceedings against AIG Australia seeking to recover 20 per cent of a $42 million class action settlement it paid, plus the legal costs of defending two class actions.
The Australian arm of global financial solutions provider Pershing faces sentencing after pleading guilty to criminal offences of mishandling client funds.
Investigations by ASIC led to prosecutors laying 279 criminal charges in the last six months of 2019, an increase of 300 percent on the previous six months, the corporate watchdog’s latest report reveals.