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ASIC loses court bid to CommBank, Colonial First
ASIC failed to overturn a Federal Court finding that the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Colonial First State did not receive “conflicted remuneration” benefits under a superannuation agreement.
Naomi Neilson
A full court of the Federal Court of Australia dismissed an appeal brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), which had alleged Colonial breached the law when it paid CBA to distribute superannuation trust, Essential Super.
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ASIC commenced proceedings in June 2020 after Essential Super had been a case study in the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry.
In September last year, Justice Stewart Anderson found the payments made by Colonial to CBA did not constitute benefits within the definition of “conflicted remuneration”.
He added the statutory context of the provisions was focused on situations where a financial adviser had a financial incentive.
On Thursday morning (17 August), the full court found Justice Anderson was “correct to conclude the benefits were not conflicting remuneration”.
In addition to dismissing the appeal, ASIC has been ordered to pay the costs of the appeal for CBA and CFS.
In its 2023 financial statement, CBA said it and Colonial denied the allegations and have continued to defend the proceedings.
“It is currently not possible to determine the ultimate impact on this claim, if any, on the group,” CBA wrote.
