Defunct microloan company Ferratum has been hit with $16 million in penalties for overcharging low-income consumers during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a judge noting the company’s conduct affected a large number of vulnerable customers.
Stockbroking firm Ord Minnett has challenged a judgment that found it must pay years of wages and other entitlements to a wealth adviser who was only remunerated by commission payments, a decision that could have major repercussions through the industry.
ANZ is set to acquire Queensland bank Suncorp, with treasurer Jim Chalmers signing off on the deal after the ACCC failed to block the $4.9 billion merger on competition grounds.
Westpac has won its case against the owner of a fruit stand in Sydney’s Flemington Markets over a fraudulent scheme perpetrated using a $15 million invoice discounting facility provided by the bank.
The liquidators of collapsed media company Big Un are pushing for a trial date in their two-year-old case against financier First Class Capital alleging a three million share purchase was part of a fraudulent design to inflate the collapsed company’s share price.
Shareholders of Commonwealth Bank have lodged expected appeals challenging a decision tossing their class actions over alleged lax money laundering compliance, giving the Full Federal Court a chance to clarify when companies must disclose regulatory investigations.
A judge has expressed concern about the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s suspicion that a former director of Keystone Asset Management may have used investor funds to purchase a house in his wife’s name, calling it “alarming”.
AMP’s former head of advice Jack Regan has filed proceedings against the owner of The Australian, Nationwide News, over a story he claims defamed him by alleging he misled ASIC over the charging of fees for no service.
ASIC has secured freezing orders over the assets of an investment fund managed by Keystone Asset Management, with a court also ordering a Keystone director to surrender his passport amid an investigation by the corporate regulator.
Trial in ASIC’s action accusing former Dixon Advisory director Paul Ryan of breaching his duties began Monday, a case that puts the spotlight on legal advice over a deed that affected the wealth management firm’s capacity to recoup a $19 million debt on the eve of its collapse.