Australia’s Banking Sector inquiry reveals massive cheating as banks collect fees for dead customers
A national inquiry into misconduct in Australia’s banking industry has revealed profit-driven fraud that has damaged customer trust. The country’s biggest banks were found guilty in making families homeless, charging fees for services that weren’t provided and sometimes even charging dead customers. Through misleading investment advice, they caused hundreds of millions of dollars in losses to their clients.
Banks charge fees for no service on Shelter Humanity
The Royal Commission, Australia’s highest form of public inquiry was established in 2005. It spent one year investigating misconduct allegations against some of Australia’s largest banks, including the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), the country’s largest lender. According to Australia’s ABC, the local banking industry has been plagued with wrongdoing issues for over a decade.
The report of Commissioner Kenneth Hayne contained 76 recommendations. The government fully supported them. This leaves the financial sector’s most unscrupulous members vulnerable to being taken over by the legislature. Multiple institutions could face criminal charges for charging fees when no service was rendered.
Australian Banks Collect Fraudulent Fees from Deceased Customers
This report reveals how Australia’s “Big Four” banks – CBA, Westpac and ANZ – cheated their customers out of A$178m (US$126m) in financial advice that they didn’t provide. Customers who died were even charged by banks. The compensation will be shared by wealth managers and major banks, which will total A$850million (US $603million).
