Westpac has been accused by the corporate regulator of insider trading before the $16 billion privatisation of electricity provider Ausgrid.
A Federal Court judge has ordered that a referee consider how junior barristers were used in assessing the legal costs in an insurance class action against Westpac which the bank has agreed to pay up to $30 million to settle.
A judge has urged parties in a class action against Westpac over superannuation fees to hold an in-person mediation, saying that success rates have “plummeted” during the COVID-19 pandemic as more settlement talks are held virtually.
Westpac will recoup the majority of proceeds from the $29.6 million sale of collapsed fintech Sargon Group, with a judge calling the company’s liquidators “anxious sellers” who sold at speed and well below market value.
The corporate cop has launched action against banking giant Westpac for allegedly selling worthless add-on credit card insurance to unwitting customers, the first of what could be a series of cases against banks in the wake of a remediation program that has returned $250 million to hundreds of thousands of account holders with 11 major lenders.
Westpac-backed venture capital firm Reinventure Group has settled a lawsuit brought by a former partner claiming she was entitled to a cut of a $100 million valuation increase in 11 startups the firm invested in.
Westpac has hit back at a class action accusing it of colluding with car dealers on a “shonky” car loan scheme that allowed them to hike up interest rates to earn higher commissions, saying consumers could have shopped around for a better deal.
The High Court has dismissed an appeal by Westpac challenging a ruling that found the bank breached its duties to customers by providing personal financial advice as part of a telephone campaign encouraging customers to roll over external superannuation accounts.
The High Court will hand down its ruling Wednesday in a high-stakes case between ASIC and Westpac that is expected to clarify the line between personal and general financial advice.
A judge has given the greenlight to AUSTRAC’s $1.3 billion penalty against Westpac over the bank’s 23 million breaches of money laundering and counter-terrorism laws, the biggest regulatory fine ever paid by an Australian company.