CBA to correct ‘mistakes’

In a apologetic speech to Commonwealth Bank shareholders at yesterday's annual general meeting, Mr Turner said the bank was doing everything it could to “make it right” following the “unacceptable behaviour” of some of its financial planners.

“We know that saying sorry is not enough, and that action is required, and where we’ve not already made good, we are absolutely committed to doing so,” Mr Turner said.

"Where we've made mistakes and let ourselves and others down, we will continue to do our level best to deal with them openly, honestly, fairly and with integrity," he said.

“In the past 12 months, however, it was clear that a number of stakeholders thought that we hadn't done enough, and we therefore committed ourselves to doing more,” Mr Turner said.

Mr Turner said that establishing its Open Advice Review program demonstrated CBA's commitment to “make it right” for customers who have concerns regarding the financial planning advice they received.

“The program is fully transparent to customers and is reported on independently. Once a case is completed, only the bank is bound by the outcome,” Mr Turner said.

“We noted in October, the Open Advice Review program had received registrations from approximately 4,200 customers seeking review as part of the program since it was announced on 3 July 2014, and since then it has continued to increase,” he said.

Mr Turner also pointed out that the bank had undertaken a series of actions to “completely change the business”, including the improving of education standards.

“We now have one of the most comprehensive staff training programs in the industry, one which continues to be improved,” Mr Turner said.

“[Also] we have mandated industry association membership for all our planners by mid-2015 [and] we've completely changed the remuneration structure, with our people now recognised and rewarded for improving the satisfaction of our customers by understanding their needs objectively,” he said.