Aussie bank will admit to allegations in two lawsuits by regulator

Bengaluru

AUSTRALIA'S Commonwealth Bank said on Monday it will not contest two lawsuits by the country's corporate regulator that stemmed from a government ordered inquiry into the financial sector for wrongdoing.

"CBA intends to admit the allegations made in ASIC's Concise Statements for both matters and does not intend to defend the proceedings," Australia's top lender said in a statement.

The lawsuits lodged by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) relate to breaches of its consumer protection provisions and the national consumer credit protection act.

ASIC is seeking A$5 million (S$4.38 million) in civil penalties from CBA for failing to provide certain benefits to customers who bought its AgriAdvantage Plus financial product, the commission said in a separate statement.

The second court case was for providing credit facilities to a self-admitted habitual gambler, where the regulator alleges the bank failed to verify the customer's financial situation before approving a credit card limit increase.

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ASIC said the amount of penalty for this case would be determined by the court after both parties made submissions. REUTERS