Commonwealth Bank of Australia hit with insurance class action

(Reuters) – A class action suit was filed against top lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia on Wednesday over the sale of credit card and personal loan insurance.

The lawsuit filed by law firm Slater and Gordon against Australia’s largest bank claims that customers are being charged for worthless products.

The class action follows similar lawsuits against Australia’s three other big banks as the financial sector continues to face scrutiny in the aftermath of a damaging public inquiry into the widespread misconduct in the sector.

“Slater and Gordon is still being contacted by large numbers of Commonwealth Bank customers who should never have been sold the products, yet have never been remediated,” Slater and Gordon practice group leader Andrew Paull said in a statement.

CBA did not immediately respond to a request for a comment.

Similar lawsuits against Westpac Banking Corp and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group were filed in February, while National Australia Bank Ltd reached a A$49.5-million ($34.37 million) settlement in a class action lawsuit in November.

(Reporting by Shreya Mariam Job in Bengaluru)