Australia’s largest bank has been ordered to pay a $5 million fine for ripping off 8,659 farmers with incorrect fees to the tune of $8 million.
Key points:
- Commonwealth Bank were fined for their flawed AgriAdvantage Plus Package, which ran for a decade
- The issue gained attention when it was mentioned during the Banking Royal Commission
- The bank had paid most of the money it took from farmers back, prior to the court action
In his judgement, Justice Jonathan Beach QC said the fine “may be seen to be on the light side”.
Commonwealth Bank customers came out behind on 131,542 occasions when they used the bank’s AgriAdvantage Plus Package (called the AA+ Package) that was meant to give them fee waivers, interest rate discounts and bonus interest on savings, the Federal Court has found.
The matter was raised in the Brisbane hea