Commonwealth Bank faces legal action over alleged business fee overcharges

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has started civil penalty proceedings against Commonwealth Bank after alleging the institution overcharged tens of thousands of business customers, according to ABC News Australia. The Daily Mail and ABC News Australia both report that the bank allegedly overcharged millions of dollars in fees to small businesses and other commercial clients. [1][2]

The Daily Mail reported that the corporate regulator alleges Commonwealth Bank overcharged about 42,000 CommBiz customers approximately 8.5 million dollars in fees between November 2020 and 31 May 2025. ABC News Australia reported that business customers were charged fees for payments made to or from third-party accounts that they were never informed about. The regulator further alleges that business customers were subjected to fee overcharges spanning a period of about 19 years, the Daily Mail reported. [1][2]

ASIC commissioner Alan Kirkland stated that the regulator alleges Commonwealth Bank broke a basic promise to its business customers, adding that small businesses should not have to scrutinise every transaction to ensure correct fee charges, the Daily Mail reported. Commonwealth Bank is the largest listed company on the Australian Securities Exchange as of July 2024 and operates as a multinational institution across New Zealand, Asia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. [1][3]

The institution was privatised between 1991 and 1996 and manages approximately 1.35 trillion Australian dollars in assets while serving more than 16 million customers worldwide. The legal action follows earlier regulatory scrutiny in Australia's banking sector, as FTMQ News reported earlier when the regulator penalised Macquarie Bank 14 million Australian dollars over misleading promotional advertising. [4][6]