Australia’s largest insurance company has been hit with the largest-ever penalty imposed by the courts against an insurer for failing to give promised discounts to NRMA customers. The Federal Court has ordered Insurance Australia Limited to pay $40 million (US$26.4 million) after finding the company, wholly owned by ASX-listed Insurance Australia Group, made false or…

Australia’s Federal Court has issued AMP Group with a $24 million (US$16 million) fine for charging over 2000 deceased customers life insurance premiums and advice fees for nearly a decade. Additionally, the court has also fined MLC $10 million (US$6.6 million) for failing to pay benefits to nearly 120 injured or disabled customers it had promised…

Some of Australia’s largest banking, insurance, and pension institutions have backed the government’s move to force companies to reveal what they are doing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The comments come as Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced the federal Labor government would create a regulatory framework around sustainable investment. In a joint media release (pdf) on Dec….

Buy now, pay later, and fast cash providers are in the sights of the corporate regulator as households come under pressure from rising interest rates and price inflation. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is also on the warpath over high-risk cryptocurrency products being flogged to retail investors. “This will not be tolerated, and action…

Financial experts have welcomed the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s (ASIC) warning to social media financial influencers for providing financial advice and services online without a license. ASIC stated that financial advice and services must be provided by licensees and that social media influencers, often called finfluencers, who provide financial product advice and financial services…

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has launched six civil penalty proceedings against Westpac bank for multiple alleged compliance failures, including charging over 11,000 deceased customers for services. The allegations came after several independent ASIC investigations during 2021 and were against Westpac’s banking, superannuation, and other businesses. Westpac admitted to all allegations and agreed…

Financial services group AMP will not face criminal prosecution three years after a banking royal commission found it had charged fees to thousands of dead customers. The inquiry’s barristers had recommended Australia’s largest wealth manager face criminal charges for lying to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission about the conduct. But the corporate regulator on…

Australia’s financial services watchdog has suffered a cybersecurity breach forcing it to halt credit applications. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) became aware of the incident on Jan. 15 when unauthorised access to a server containing documents related to credit license applications occured. “While the investigation is ongoing, it appears that there is some…

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has said there is no solid evidence showing that school banking programs have helped children develop long-term saving habits, In a report, published on Dec 15, ASIC said that its two-year review into school banking programs has demonstrated that school banking programs have exposed vulnerable young children to sophisticated…