The Banking Code Compliance Committee (BCCC) has sanctioned the Bank of Queensland (BOQ) for serious and systemic breaches of the Banking Code of Practice.
BOQ and its subsidiary brands BOQ Specialist and Virgin Money Australia failed to stop or refund over 2500 instances of fees and interest that were incorrectly charged to the estates of deceased customers between 2019 and 2023.
In total, BOQ incorrectly charged $158,834 in fees and interest to the estates, potentially adding unnecessary financial and emotional distress to grieving families and representatives.
Chair of the BCCC, Ian Govey AM, emphasised the seriousness of the breaches.
“The decision to name BOQ reflects the severity and systemic nature of the compliance failings,” Mr. Govey said.
“We expect banks to take swift and effective action to address non-compliance and prevent further harm to customers. BOQ’s deficiencies and inadequate response fell below our expectations.”
The breaches were compounded by BOQ’s delays in identifying and addressing underlying issues.
At the request of the BCCC, the bank completed an internal audit in September 2022 which revealed significant weaknesses in its systems, controls, and processes for managing deceased estates processes. While BOQ had introduced some improvements in late 2021, it failed to apply them consistently and address the underlying causes.
“BOQ’s response to its breaches lacked urgency. It took far too long to implement effective measures to address the root causes and to prevent recurrence,” Mr. Govey said.
The BCCC acknowledged that BOQ completed remediation for affected estates in phases between 2022 and 2024 and has since improved its internal processes to address the underlying issues.
Mr. Govey noted the improvements and reiterated the importance of ensuring processes worked to support compliance with the Banking Code.
“Banks must ensure their compliance frameworks are strong and appropriate for the complexity of their operations,” Mr. Govey said. “This is vital for upholding the commitments in the Banking Code and minimising poor outcomes for customers.”
The BCCC’s investigation into BOQ’s breaches forms part of its broader focus on banks’ obligations to deceased estates. It expects banks to have applied the learnings from the original inquiry to strengthen compliance.
In 2025, the BCCC will follow up with banks that did not form part of its original inquiry and review the results of audits it requested.
Read the full summary of the BCCC's sanction.
About us:
The BCCC’s purpose is to monitor and drive best practice Code compliance.
To do this, the BCCC:
- examines banks’ practices
- identifies current and emerging industry wide problems
- recommends improvements to bank practices
- sanctions banks for serious compliance failures, and
- consults and keeps stakeholders and the public informed.
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