The corporate regulator has shot back at “exaggerated and inaccurate criticisms” that its updated responsible lending guidelines were to blame for lack of access to credit.
A judge has signed off on a settlement of a long-running class action against Westpac unit BankSA, and has ruled the law firm that brought the case has an equitable right to unpaid legal costs for investigating the case before it found a funder.
AMP, Asteron and Westpac have been singled out by ASIC for having higher than expected decline rates for total and permanent disability life insurance claims, in a new review by the corporate watchdog that also revealed a “concerningly high” 60 per cent rejection rate for some narrowly defined policies.
Westpac has offered an appeals court two more reasons to affirm its victory in a closely watched responsible lending case brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission over almost 262,000 home loans.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has filed an appeal against the Federal Court’s responsible lending ruling in favour of Westpac, arguing the decision had created uncertainty around the obligations of credit providers.
Two Westpac units have been hit with a class action over allegedly excessive superannuation interest rates, the third class action filed as part of Slater and Gordon’s $1 billion ‘Get Your Super Back’ campaign.
The original solicitors who stepped down from leading a class action against Westpac unit BankSA amid abuse of process allegations will bring separate proceedings in the Federal Court seeking a bigger slice of the multi-million dollar settlement sum to cover their costs.
A senior partner at a Sydney-based law firm has denied he made a “deliberate decision” to withhold advice from a former client suing for alleged breach of duties and conflict of interest over a rejected $4.45 million settlement in an employment dispute with Westpac.
After defeating the corporate regulator’s case alleging it breached responsible lending laws, banking giant Westpac has won a reprieve from lodging a defence in a related class action.
Insurance company Allianz Australia will need set aside an extra $250 million in capital until it strengthens its risk management, making it the fifth financial institution to be slapped with additional requirements by the prudential regulator.