HSBC Bank Australia has been fined for contravening Consumer Data Right rules, after the ACCC found the bank failed to provide complete mortgage interest rate details and accurate credit card balances in response to requests for data via the CDR.
The bank will pay $33,000 after the ACCC issued two infringement notices, and it has taken steps to rectify data quality issues identified in the regulator’s investigation.
In response to data requests via the CDR last year, some of the product data HSBC disclosed for its fixed rare home loan products did not include the corresponding featured interest rates advertised on its website.
HSBC also failed to disclose credit card account balance data accurately in response to consumer data requests.
ACCC commissioner Peter Crone said: “If accurate home loan rates are not provided, product data users, such as comparison sites and brokers, are unable to present accurate comparisons of home loan products to consumers.
“For the CDR to be effective, it is critical that CDR data is of high quality.”
Speaking at last week’s AFR Banking Summit, ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said insufficient CDR data quality is one of the ACCC’s “priority conduct areas”.
Cass-Gottlieb said the regulator has several investigations underway and it takes enforcement seriously.
She said the ACCC has denied accreditation to aspiring data recipients that did not meet the criteria for entering the CDR system.