ASIC has sued Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA) over alleged overcharges to business customers. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission filed civil penalty proceedings on Thursday.
ASIC alleges the bank overcharged about 42,000 CommBiz customers roughly A$8.5 million ($5.82 million) in fees between November 2020 and May 31, 2025. CommBiz is the bank's online banking platform for medium-to-large businesses. ASIC says the platform's terms did not accurately disclose all fees for direct debit and direct credit transactions. It says the misleading terms had been in place since CommBiz launched in 2006.
According to ASIC, the bank received customer complaints from at least 2015. A 2016 internal audit identified the overcharging and recommended corrective action.
ASIC says Commonwealth Bank stopped charging the relevant fees in June 2025, amended the CommBiz terms in August 2025, and has waived the "contra leg" fees for direct debits and direct credits since February 2026.
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."
Commonwealth Bank says it self-reported the matter and cooperated fully with ASIC's investigation. It does not accept some of the allegations and expects to defend certain aspects of the claim.
The case is the first major action under ASIC Chair Sarah Court, who took office on June 1.