Response to rogues was too slow: CBA boss
Facing questions over the bank's failure to act on serious transgressions by planners that came to light in 2008, Mr Turner made his strongest comments yet on the scandal.
"What we did was shocking," he said at the bank's annual meeting on Friday.
"There's no excuse for giving bad advice, absolutely no excuse. We had the wrong people giving the advice and the business was structured wrongly, and remunerated wrongly, and the culture was wrong."
An investigation by Fairfax Media earlier this year exposed details of the scandal within CommBank's planning arm, including the alleged forging of signatures, the creation of unauthorised investment accounts and overcharging of fees.
Whistleblowers from the bank first contacted the Australian Securities and Investments Commission in 2008. One of the planners, Don Nguyen, was suspended for a month in the same year but he was later promoted. In March 2011, Mr Nguyen was banned from working as a financial planner for seven years.
Mr Turner said the bank had been "exceptionally slow" in acting on the information about the rogue planners, but argued the board moved quickly once it knew about the scandal.
"It was too slow in coming up through the organisation," he said. "We found out about it far too late."
"When we did find out about it and started to move with ASIC to investigate and take the action necessary to put it all right, we moved extremely fast," he said.
"Insofar as the board is concerned, we did all we possibly could but I'm absolutely not denying that we got it wrong in the first place."
The bank has previously said it "deeply regrets" the poor advice that was provided by the staff and admitted there was a "sale-based" culture among some of its staff.
Mr Turner said in the past three years this part of the bank had overhauled its pay structure, training and culture.
The bank's board and management faced questions cover a broad range of topics including legal complaints following its BankWest takeover of 2008, its environmental policies, and its preparedness for a housing meltdown.
But after a week in which the bank posted a 14 per cent lift in quarterly profit to $2.1 billion and its share price hit a record high of $79.88, the protest vote was marginal. All resolutions passed easily.
It emerged this week that CommBank will face a class action lawsuit over allegations it unfairly terminated commercial loans after buying BankWest in 2008.
Critics say the bank had an incentive to have some of its customers default but chief executive Ian Narev said it was "categorically wrong" to claim the bank had put people into hardship for financial gain.
Mr Turner also rejected a call for the bank to eliminate its exposure to the coal industry, and said the bank frequently conducted stress tests to ensure it could handle an "Armageddon situation" in the economy.
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
The misconduct involved rogue planners giving bad advice, forging signatures, creating unauthorized investment accounts, and overcharging fees. This behavior was described as 'shocking' by Commonwealth Bank chairman David Turner.
The misconduct issue involved rogue planners at Commonwealth Bank's financial planning arm who engaged in activities such as forging signatures, creating unauthorized investment accounts, and overcharging fees. This behavior was described as 'shocking' by the bank's chairman, David Turner.
Commonwealth Bank was criticized for being too slow in responding to the misconduct. However, once the board became aware of the issues, they worked quickly with ASIC to investigate and rectify the situation.
Commonwealth Bank was criticized for being too slow in responding to the financial planning scandal. Although the board acted quickly once aware, the initial response was delayed. The bank has since overhauled its pay structure, training, and culture to address these issues.
In response to the scandal, Commonwealth Bank has overhauled its pay structure, training, and culture within its financial planning arm over the past three years to prevent future misconduct.
One of the planners, Don Nguyen, was initially suspended for a month in 2008 but was later promoted. In March 2011, he was banned from working as a financial planner for seven years. The bank has worked with ASIC to investigate and rectify the situation.
One of the planners, Don Nguyen, was initially suspended for a month in 2008 but was later promoted. In 2011, he was banned from working as a financial planner for seven years.
In response to the scandal, Commonwealth Bank has overhauled its pay structure, training, and culture within its financial planning arm to prevent future misconduct and ensure better advice for clients.
Yes, Commonwealth Bank is facing a class action lawsuit over allegations of unfairly terminating commercial loans after acquiring BankWest in 2008.
During the annual meeting, despite facing questions about the scandal, all resolutions passed easily. The bank had recently posted a 14% increase in quarterly profit, which may have influenced the marginal protest vote.
Despite the scandal, Commonwealth Bank posted a 14% increase in quarterly profit to $2.1 billion, and its share price reached a record high of $79.88.
Yes, Commonwealth Bank is facing a class action lawsuit over allegations of unfairly terminating commercial loans after acquiring BankWest in 2008. Critics claim the bank had an incentive for customers to default, but the bank denies these claims.
Commonwealth Bank has faced criticism for its exposure to the coal industry, but chairman David Turner rejected calls to eliminate this exposure, stating the bank conducts stress tests to handle economic challenges.
Commonwealth Bank has faced calls to eliminate its exposure to the coal industry. However, the bank's chairman, David Turner, rejected these calls, stating that the bank frequently conducts stress tests to ensure it can handle economic challenges.
Chief executive Ian Narev categorically denied claims that the bank put customers into hardship for financial gain, stating it was 'categorically wrong' to make such allegations.
Despite the scandal, Commonwealth Bank reported a 14% increase in quarterly profit, reaching $2.1 billion, and its share price hit a record high of $79.88. This financial performance likely contributed to the marginal protest vote at the annual meeting.
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