The Australian Federal Court dismissed the proceedings initiated by the country's securities regulators against top Australian Commonwealth Bank of Australia over alleged incorrect charging of monthly fees to customers, the regulator said on Tuesday.
The Australian Securities Investments Commission ASIC had alleged in June 2010 and September 2019 that between A $55 million and A $3.86 million were wrongly charged in monthly fees for nearly a million customers and over 800,000 accounts, despite their entitlement to fee waivers under a contract.
The court found that the bank had not breached its obligation to ensure financial services were provided efficiently.
The court found that CBA's terms and conditions acknowledged that sometimes the bank can get things wrong, and the bank is determined to make them right again, citing the judgement.
ASIC said as of Sept. 13, 2021, CBA had paid $64 million in remediation to almost one million customers who were overcharged, but it was not clear how many customers had yet to be paid.
ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court said ASIC pursued this case because of the fact that CBA did not have robust compliance systems to make sure customers were being charged correctly.
In September, another ASIC proceeding against CBA over allegations of improperly collecting commissions was dismissed by the federal court, a blow to consumer advocates seeking tougher regulations.