ASIC’s newly installed chief on Thursday slammed banks and other financial firms for their “trust deficit” and vowed to deploy “every inch of our powers and tools” to go after violators.
The financing arrangement underwriting Quinn Emanuel’s shareholder class action against AMP, which will earn its partner Burford Capital a record low 10 percent of any recovery, sets a new standard in class action litigation funding, and is expected to spark greater price competition in the industry.
A bidding war erupted Tuesday among law firms angling to lead a $2 billion shareholder class action against AMP, with Maurice Blackburn announcing a “super deal” and Quinn Emanuel besting that with a funding arrangement to “shake up” the market.
A two-day hearing has been scheduled in the Westpac life insurance class action over a proposed funding arrangement that would give litigation backer JustKapital 30 per cent of any recovery, in addition to costs outlaid by lawyers for the class.
AMP says it will “vigorously defend” two class actions by shareholders in the wake of scandalous revelations at the Royal Commission that led to a $2 billion market cap drop.
The Federal Government’s $26 million cut to ASIC’s budget has been blasted by experts and the opposition for undermining the corporate regulator, already facing the heat of the Banking Royal Commission.
Law firm Quinn Emanuel has filed the first shareholder class action against AMP ahead of the beleaguered company’s annual general meeting on Thursday.
Commonwealth Bank has agreed to pay $25 million to settle claims by the securities regulator that it manipulated the bank bill swap rate.
Facing shareholder wrath in the wake of the Royal Commission’s damning revelations, AMP’s three female non-executive directors stepped down on Tuesday.
A Federal Court judge has given the all-clear to a $132.5 million offer by QBE to settle a class action by shareholders angry about a $5 billion stock market wipeout for the insurance provider.