ASIC files civil proceedings against CBA over CommBiz fee disclosure
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has filed civil proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia against Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA), according to a CBA media release dated 12 November 2026. The ASIC proceedings relate to how CBA disclosed a fee on its CommBiz online business banking platform.
The proceedings allege contraventions of one of the misleading or deceptive conduct provisions of the ASIC Act 2001 (Cth). They also allege a breach of one of the general obligations owed by financial services licensees under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).
CBA said it self-identified the matter, reported it to ASIC and has cooperated fully with ASIC throughout its investigation.
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What the proceedings relate to
The proceedings concern the manner in which CBA disclosed one component, the “contra leg”, of a fee charged to customers for Direct Credits and Direct Debits processed using CommBiz. CBA described CommBiz as its online business banking platform.
Key facts from the release:
- The relevant fee was 25 cents (plus GST).
- CBA charged the fee consistently over time.
- The issue arose from changes made to certain Terms and Conditions intended to simplify them, which did not accurately reflect the fee charging method.
Remediation completed and CBA’s response
CBA said it has completed remediation of impacted CommBiz customers, being those charged the relevant component of the Direct Credit and Direct Debit fees since December 2006. Such payments were provided for in FY2026.
As at 20 October 2026, payments to affected CommBiz customers, inclusive of interest, were:
- Median payment: approximately $85
- Mean payment: approximately $442
CBA has also taken additional rectification steps to reduce the risk of similar incidents.
Against the scale of the group’s FY26 full year results, which showed a record $11.0bn cash profit, the remediation payments to CommBiz customers are small in financial terms.
CBA’s stance on the claim
CBA said it accepts that it did not get things right for CommBiz customers and apologises to all customers impacted by the matter. It does not accept the way that some allegations have been formulated.
CBA therefore expects to defend certain aspects of the claim, or otherwise continue to engage with ASIC to efficiently resolve the proceedings.
CBA also noted, as set out in Note 7.1 of its latest Annual Report, that there are a range of ongoing matters where regulators or other bodies are reviewing or investigating whether a Group member has breached legal, regulatory or other obligations.
The matter sits alongside other legacy conduct issues at the bank, including the Colonial First State class action, which CBA agreed in principle to settle for $249 million with the amount already provisioned.
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