In light of an account fraud scandal at US-bank Wells Fargo, on 5 May 2014 ABC TV Four Corners, in conjunction with Fairfax journalists, broadcast an exposé of a sales-driven culture within the Commonwealth Bank's (CBA) financial planning division, that was described as profit at all cost. Chaired by Labor Senator Mark Bishop, a subsequent Senate committee inquiry recommended a royal commission into the fraud scandal that left thousands of CBA customers millions of dollars out of pocket. The committee reported on the performance of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Several days later, CBA chief executive Ian Narev apologised unreservedly to customers who lost money in the bank's financial planning scandal. Treasurer at the time, Joe Hockey, whose mother was impacted by the scandal, stated that the bank did not act quickly enough to address the problem. The CBA was subsequently embroiled in other matters including money laundering for drug syndicates, turning a blind eye to terrorism financing, ignoring statutory reporting responsibilities for more than three years on more than 750,000 accounts, and impropriety in foreign exchange trading.
