CBA's Comyn rejects ASIC's $285m customer compensation push
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The news: The Commonwealth Bank has rejected the claim by the corporate watchdog that it charged vulnerable customers $285 million of excess fees as the major breaks with other big four banks on compensation.
The context: Facing the House of Representatives Economics Committee, chief executive Matt Comyn defended the bank's refusal to refund the full fee amount the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) says it owed to customers placed in high-fee accounts.
Initially focusing on indigenous customers which the banks refunded, ASIC expanded its review. Westpac, ANZ and Bendigo agreed to bulk refund their customers in line with ASIC's findings but CBA declined.
What they said: "In this particular instance there are no instances of unlawful conduct. These are fees and charges associated with these products," he said. "They were charged in accordance with the terms and conditions."
"I'm not challenging the [$285 million] figure. I would maybe debate whether all of that was excessive. I would say there's a threshold."
Comyn added that he wasn't "necessarily moved as much by the decisions that other institutions make."
"Perhaps there's a harsher interpretation of how a shareholder may think of that, which is well that is effectively misappropriation of their property. There's a balance between zero and $285 million. We're trying to strike that..."
The source: House Economics Committee Hearing
