People walk past a Westpac Banking Corp signage in Canberra, Australia June 27, 2024. REUTERS
Dec 23 (Reuters) – New Zealand’s financial regulator on Monday said that Australian lender Westpac’s (WBC.AX), local unit admitted to overcharging and misleading more than 24,000 personal and business customers by not providing advertised discounts and benefits.
The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) said it brought civil proceedings against Westpac New Zealand in the High Court in Auckland, where it admitted that 24,621 customers failed to receive advertised benefits under certain packages, resulting in the bank overcharging NZ$6.35 million ($3.59 million).
“Westpac’s issues stemmed from deficiencies in its systems that meant the bank failed to deliver to them (customers) contractually agreed discounts,” Margot Gatland, FMA’s head of enforcement, said in a statement on the regulator’s website.
The regulator said Westpac has provided remediation to impacted customers, and that they have agreed to resolve the proceedings on mutually agreeable terms.
Westpac in an emailed statement to Reuters said it self-reported the issues to the FMA and has been co-operating with the regulator in its investigation.
The court in Auckland will likely hear the matter in 2025, Westpac said.
($1 = 1.7683 New Zealand dollars)
Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala
