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# ASIC sues Commonwealth Bank, alleging about A$8.5 million of undisclosed fees charged to about 42,000 business customers
- URL: https://www.theglobalbanker.com/asic-sues-commonwealth-bank-alleging-about-a-8-5-million-of-undisclosed-fees-charged-to-about-42-000-business-customers/
- Published: 2026-11-13T01:09:38.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-13T01:09:38.000Z
- Description: Australia's corporate regulator alleges that CommBiz customers were overcharged about A$8.5 million in undisclosed fees between November 2020 and May 2025, with misleading terms in place since 2006.
- Author: TGB Editorial Team
- Tags: Regulations, Asia-Pacific, #newsroom, #needs-photo

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has launched civil penalty proceedings against [Commonwealth Bank of Australia](https://www.theglobalbanker.com/rankings/) in the Federal Court, alleging that about 42,000 CommBiz business customers were overcharged roughly A$8.5 million in fees between November 2020 and 31 May 2025\. The regulator announced the case in release 26-279MR on 12 November 2026; the bank has not been found liable.

ASIC alleges the CommBiz terms told customers they would pay one fee for each direct debit or direct credit, while the bank also charged an undisclosed "contra leg" fee on the customer's own matching account. ASIC alleges that in one example a small business paying the fortnightly wages of 10 employees from two accounts was charged 12 fees.

## WHAT ASIC ALLEGES

The regulator alleges the misleading terms were in place from the launch of CommBiz in 2006, so that business customers were overcharged for about 19 years. It says the bank received customer complaints from at least 2015, and that a 2016 internal audit identified overcharging of direct debit fees and required corrective action.

ASIC also alleges governance failings meant the alleged misleading statements were not identified and corrected, and that the bank failed to act efficiently, honestly and fairly. "We allege Commonwealth Bank broke a basic promise to its business customers," ASIC commissioner Alan Kirkland said. "What makes this particularly concerning is how long the alleged conduct went on, despite customer complaints to Commonwealth Bank pointing to a problem years earlier."

## THE BANK'S RESPONSE

Commonwealth Bank said in a statement that the relevant fee was 25 cents plus GST, and that it had self-identified the matter, reported it to ASIC and cooperated fully. It apologised to affected customers but said it does not accept the way some allegations have been formulated, and expects to defend certain aspects of the claim or otherwise keep engaging with ASIC to resolve the proceedings.

The bank temporarily ceased charging the fees in June 2025 and amended the CommBiz terms in August 2025\. Its remediation programme, covering 1 December 2006 to the present, has paid more than A$26.4 million to about 93,000 CommBiz customers, including about 40,000 small businesses; up to 20 October, the median payment was about A$85 and the mean about A$442, including interest. Commonwealth Bank shares rose 1.6%.

## A TOUGHER REGULATOR

The case is the first major action under ASIC chair Sarah Court, who took office on 1 June. On Monday, Macquarie Bank admitted failures in the promotion of a "welcome" interest rate for new savings customers, which could lead to an A$14 million penalty, according to the ABC.

## THE TGB VIEW

Commonwealth Bank is 17th in TGB's 2026 table of the largest banks in Asia-Pacific, ranked by total assets, with US$886.7bn and a 12.8% return on equity, the highest of the four Australian majors in the table. Those four held about 73% of [Australia](https://www.theglobalbanker.com/market-australia/)'s banking assets at June 2026, and ASIC's allegations go beyond the fees to governance failings at the largest of them. Beyond the remediation already paid, the bank faces ASIC's request for declarations, pecuniary penalties and adverse publicity orders; no case management hearing has yet been listed, so there is no court date to watch.

*Related: [Commonwealth Bank of Australia FY26 cash profit rises 7% to A$11 billion; ROE rises to 14%](https://www.theglobalbanker.com/cba-fy26-cash-profit-a11-billion/)*