GOVERNMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS – AUSTRALIA

Commonwealth Bank admits it broke law over fees

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Original article by Sarah Danckert, Clancy Yeates
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 3 : 11-May-18

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has issued a statement acknowledging that its financial planners had breached the Corporations Act by charging fees for services that were not provided. However, the bank has rejected several of the open findings of the senior counsel assisting the banking royal commission with regard to its financial planning division. Meanwhile, Westpac has rejected all of the open findings of the royal commission regarding its financial planning business.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, COUNT FINANCIAL LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH FINANCIAL PLANNING LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, RI ADVICE GROUP PTY LTD, M3 FINANCIAL, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, DOVER FINANCIAL ADVISERS PTY LTD

Westpac anger at royal commission tactics

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 14 : 8-May-18

Westpac’s shares rose $A0.24 to $A29.34 on 7 May after the bank reported an interim cash profit of $A4.25 billion, up six per cent. In releasing its latest results, Westpac took the opportunity to criticise the banking royal commission’s release of documents that had been critical of its lending standards. CEO Brian Hartzer also took the opportunity to restate the bank’s commitment to its BT Financial Group wealth business, despite other banks having indicated their intention to exit the wealth management sector.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, BT FINANCIAL GROUP PTY LTD, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, BT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX BTT, ALPHINITY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

ANZ scraps product-linked bonus score

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Original article by Alice Uribe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 19 : 7-May-18

The ANZ Bank has announced that it will sack financial planners who twice fail a compliance audit, as the banking royal commission continues to reverberate among Australia’s 25,000 financial planners. ANZ has also announced that it will abolish product-linked bonuses for its financial planners, with CEO Shayne Elliott stating that the problems that the royal commission has revealed regarding financial planners have been created by a structure that rewards them for selling products.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, IOOF HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX IFL

Banks lower now than during GFC: Costello

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Original article by James Thomson, Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 4-May-18

Corporate Australia is getting tarnished by the banking royal commission, according to former federal treasurer Peter Costello. He says the banks survived the global financial crisis so unscathed that they became complacent, while the likelihood that the federal government’s full company tax cuts package will be passed by the Senate is looking highly unlikely because of the royal commission. James Pearson, the head of the Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry, says companies in other sectors should not have to miss out on tax cuts because of failings in the financial services sector.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

NAB joins bank retreat from wealth

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 20 : 4-May-18

National Australia Bank CEO Andrew Thorburn has refuted suggestions that its decision to sell the MLC wealth management unit has been prompted by the banking royal commission. However, he concedes that the commission’s revelations have meant that banks must change their approach to business. Thorburn also notes that the NAB is aware that it may not be able to sell MLC as a single unit if the commission decides that financial planners should no longer be able to work for businesses that manufacture investment and superannuation products.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, MLC LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NIPPON LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, CLIME ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, ONEPATH AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ZURICH FINANCIAL SERVICES AG, COLONIAL FIRST STATE GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT, BT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX BTT, JBWERE LIMITED, NABTRADE, GREAT WESTERN BANK, CLYDESDALE BANK PLC

FPA preoccupied with hiding adviser’s identity

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Original article by Joanna Mather, Fiona Buffini
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 27-Apr-18

The Financial Planning Association requested that the banking royal commission keep confidential the details of a member who is the subject of disciplinary action. The financial planner in question, Sam Henderson, is also the subject of disciplinary action by the SMSF Association. He contributes articles on financial planning to a weekend newspaper and he has a television show on Sky News. The FPA’s action against Henderson was prompted by advice he gave that had the potential to reduce a client’s superannuation benefit by $A500,000.

CORPORATES
FINANCIAL PLANNING ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, SMSF ASSOCIATION, SKY NEWS, ASSOCIATION OF FINANCIAL ADVISERS LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

Turnbull vows to go harder on the banks

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 24-Apr-18

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull concedes that it was a "political error" not to have set up a banking royal commission in 2016. However, he states that the inquiry now has much wider terms of reference than it would have had at that time. The Federal Government has cracked down on the sector in recent years, with reforms such as the Banking Executive Accountability Regime and a requirement that bank executives appear before a parliamentary committee on a regular basis. Turnbull has committed to implementing any additional reforms that are recommended by the royal commission.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

CBA looks at selling advice firms

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 24-Apr-18

The Commonwealth Bank is said to be reviewing its ownership of the Count Financial and Financial Wisdom financial planning groups. An announcement on a possible sale of the two groups could be made in the second half of 2018. The banking royal commission’s revelations have prompted banks to consider their ownership of financial planning groups, amid concern about the potential for conflicts of interests. The CBA paid $A373 million for Count Financial in 2011, while it assumed ownership of Financial Wisdom when it acquired the Colonial Group in 2000.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, COUNT FINANCIAL LIMITED, FINANCIAL WISDOM LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, COLONIAL GROUP, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED

Three lawsuits looming for AMP

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Original article by Ben Butler, Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 24-Apr-18

AMP has declined to comment on reports that it may face multiple class action lawsuits after the misconduct of its financial planners was exposed by the banking royal commission. Slater & Gordon and Shine Lawyers have advised that they are considering class actions on behalf of AMP clients, while Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan expects to launch its own class action within weeks. Meanwhile, the inquiry has been told that many clients who received poor financial advice from AMP have yet to be informed that they have lost money.

CORPORATES
AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, SLATER AND GORDON LIMITED – ASX SGH, SHINE LAWYERS, QUINN EMANUEL URQUHART AND SULLIVAN LP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, PROPERTY SAINT, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

CBA charges dead customers for advice

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 20-Apr-18

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has apologised to the families of deceased customers who had continued to be charged fees for financial advice after their death. The banking royal commission has been told that four deceased customers of CBA subsidiary Count Financial had been charged fees, in one case for more than 10 years after their death. The inquiry has also been told that CBA had been made aware of a fees-for-no-service scandal at Count Financial in November 2012, but it did not inform ASIC until 2014.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, COUNT FINANCIAL LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC