BOQ settles Storm claims
Bank of Queensland has reached an agreement to settle proceedings brought against it by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and a class action on behalf of borrowers advised by Storm Financial.BOQ said in a statement that it would pay A$17 million to customers and total payments of $19.7 million.The ASIC action dates back to 2010 and the class action was commenced in 2012.ASIC said in a separate statement that the BOQ settlement brought an end to litigation started by ASIC to obtain compensation for Storm investors. Commonwealth Bank, which settled with ASIC in 2012, will pay around $136 million to borrowers advised by Storm. Macquarie Bank, which settled earlier this year, will pay around $75 million to customers and total costs of $82.5 million.In all three cases, ASIC alleged that Storm operated an unlawful managed investment scheme and that the banks were involved in the operation of the scheme.