KordaMentha Forensic to monitor CBA financial planners

John Kavanagh
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has appointed KordaMentha Forensic to examine two of Commonwealth Bank's finance planning businesses' compliance with their licence conditions.

KordaMentha will monitor compliance with new conditions imposed on the operations of Commonwealth Financial Planning and Financial Wisdom, which had provided poor advice to customers over a number of years.

It will also review the past activities of the two businesses and report back to ASIC, as well identify high-risk advisers.

ASIC imposed an external compliance expert after a scheme developed to compensate customers of former advisers was not applied consistently.

The two financial planning businesses will contact 4000 customers to inform them that their advisers had been found to have provided poor advice in the past.

Last month Commonwealth Bank introduced new educational standards for all of its financial planners. Authorised representatives will have to hold an advanced diploma in financial planning or a degree in finance, business or commerce.