ASIC Charges CBA for Mis-Selling Consumer Credit Insurance

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced that it has filed 30 criminal charges against the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) in the Federal Court for the mis-selling of consumer credit insurance.

According to the press release, the 30 criminal charges relate to CBA’s promotion and sale of CreditCard Plus and Loan Protection policies as an add-on insurance product in branches, by telephone and online.

The charges relate to allegations that between 2011 and 2015, CBA made false or misleading representations to customers that the insurance policies had uses or benefits to those customers when part or all the benefits were not available.

The authority noted CBA has cooperated with ASIC’s investigation to date. The matter is to be listed for first mention in the Federal Court, Sydney, on a date to be fixed.

This week, ASIC has updated its licensing and registration activities​, reporting that it approved 339 new Australian financial services (AFS) between 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021. 

According to the results, ASIC received 1,883 new and variation AFS and credit licence applications in the 12 months, significantly higher than 1,346 in the previous 12 months. The increase relates mostly to requirements for new persons or entities to hold an AFS or credit licence or additional authorisations.