Australia's corporate regulator said on Monday it had filed a lawsuit against two trading units of Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the country's largest lender, alleging compliance failures in delivering financial services.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commision (ASIC) said in a statement it had sued CBA's CommSec and Australian Investment Exchange, alleging compliance breaches spanning a "significant" period of time.
The breaches by both companies included overcharging brokerage fees to customers and failing to provide confirmation of certain market transactions among others, the regulator said.
CBA said in a separate statement the issues arose due to errors in its information technology system coding and data entry, adding that CommSec has paid A$6.5 million ($5.04 million) in refunds and other compensation payments to affected customers.
"We acknowledge the importance of meeting our compliance obligations and we are committed to continuing to invest in strengthening our systems and procedures," said Richard Burns, Managing Director of CommSec.
The regulator added that both CommSec and AUSIEX have agreed to enter into a compliance program, that will include a review of all systems and controls of their financial services by an independent expert.
Last year, CBA sold its unit Australian Investment Exchange to Japanese consulting firm Nomura Research Institute. The divestment is expected to be completed in the first half of 2021.
(Reporting by Shriya Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa)
