Westpac has admitted it broke the law and has agreed to pay penalties totalling $113 million after the corporate regulator hit the bank with 6 lawsuits over careless treatment of customers, including charging dead people fees.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) lawsuit alleges that Westpac charged over 11,000 dead people more than $10 million in fees, collected $12 million in illegal commissions from 8,000 people, failed to properly disclose $7 million in fees it charged to 25,000 customers, kept 21,000 accounts open for companies that no longer existed and on-sold debts to collectors at rates higher than it was allowed to charge.
ASIC has criticised the bank for a “poor compliance culture,” prompting for urgent improvement.