Commonwealth bank probe to focus on governance, pay

Bloomberg

Australia’s banking regulator will probe whether cultural, governance and pay structures contributed to a string of scandals at Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA). The inquiry, commissioned after allegations the country’s biggest lender repeatedly breached anti-money laundering laws, will focus on identifying any internal shortcomings at the bank and make recommendations for change, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority said.
A suit from the nation’s financial crime agency that the bank breached money-laundering and terrorism-financing laws more than 50,000 times is the latest in a series of incidents that have “damaged the reputation and public standing” of Commonwealth Bank, the regulator said.
The bank has paid $23 million in compensation to customers who were allegedly given poor financial advice, and has faced accusations it wrongly failed to honour insurance claims to sick clients. The scandal has also taken a toll on the share price. CBA said it welcomed the appointment of the panel members and “looks forward to providing them with our full cooperation.”