CBA

The Finance Sector Union has launched legal proceedings in the Fair Work Commission against the Commonwealth Bank for allegedly sacking an employee who breached a “draconian” salary secrecy clause.

The legal market has experienced unprecedented growth during the last year despite the coronavirus pandemic, but law firms are “battling” to retain and hire lawyers, a CBA report has found.

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia will have to hand over a preliminary tranche of documents relating to seven large-scale oil and gas projects it is financing in a lawsuit that will test whether the bank has complied with its stated commitments on climate change.

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has failed in its bid to dismiss a case brought by customers who claim they were the victims of "cuckoo-smurfing" and had funds seized as proceeds of crime because the bank breached its anti-money laundering obligations.

A fine imposed against the Commonwealth Bank for false and misleading representations to customers should reflect offences that were "well below the midpoint" of seriousness, counsel for the bank has told a judge overseeing the first criminal case of its kind.  

The Federal Court has slugged wealth management firm Colonial First State Investments with a $20 million penalty for misleading almost 13,000 superannuation members about their MySuper entitlements through a "concerted campaign" that lasted two years.

The Commonwealth Bank’s wealth management unit has agreed to cough up $20 million in penalties for misleading thousands of fund members during the transition to MySuper accounts, but steadfastly maintains its conduct was not part of a “nefarious” plot for profits.

The Fair Work Ombudsman has taken the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and CommSec to court for allegedly knowingly underpaying almost 7,500 employees over $16.4 million through the use of individual agreements.

The Commonwealth Bank has resolved a case brought by former head of governance and company secretary Kara Nicholls, who resigned from the bank on Tuesday as part of a settlement of her claims that the governance team was overworked and under-staffed.

A judge has told a Colonial First State Investments unit to provide information about its financial position to the lead applicant in a class action and criticised the company for failing to disclose that it had transferred its liabilities after the class action was launched.