$1.5 million on Monday (26 July). According to a statement issued by ASIC, the two superannuation subsidiaries of Westpac were found guilty of charging customers while providing no service and for making “misleading” statements.
According to Justice Michael Wheelahan, BT and Asgard’s decision to continue to charge customers who had removed financial advisers from their accounts and for failing to clearly inform these customers they were continuing to pay fees, in more than 480 occasions, was in violation of sections 12DA (1) and 12DB (1)(g) of the ASIC Act and section 1041H of the Corporations Act. He added that penalties would encourage companies to set up and maintain reliable systems while avoiding processes that are “defective”.
Following the announcement, ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court noted that the banking and financial service providers have an obligation to ensure their processes and systems are reliable, accurate and trustworthy.
In the 2020 financial year, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Westpac received a total of $25 million in ‘dividends’ from BT Funds Management. This was following a $71 million bonanza in 2019. In fact, since 2016, the major Australian bank has received $221 million worth of dividend payments from the superannuation products run by BTFM.
