In a statement on its website, FOS said that disputes relating to Macquarie Bank’s financial adviser network, Macquarie Private Wealth, since 2004, and disputes relating to advice provided by Commonwealth Financial Planning or Financial Wisdom between 1 September 2003 and 1 July 2012, have now been classified as significant.
FOS said this means any consumers whose disputes have not been resolved to their satisfaction after going through CBA's or Macquarie's special reviews may bring them to FOS.
Managing the disputes under the significant event strategy, FOS said, will provide “early communication with relevant stakeholders and a streamlined, expedited process for the resolution of related disputes”.
In accordance with the strategy, FOS said it has already been in contact with the two banks to obtain their “cooperation in providing early information on the likely flow of disputes to FOS and the documentation FOS will need to ensure any disputes received can move quickly and directly to a FOS decision”.
“Each dispute will be reviewed and decided by FOS based on what is fair in all the circumstances, in accordance with the FOS terms of reference and consistent with FOS’s approach to similar disputes we have resolved,” said FOS.
A CBA spokesperson said the independent expert for the Open Advice Review program, Promontory Financial Group, will “review the processes of the program and provide transparency by periodically reporting the outcomes of the program publicly”.
“To ensure the independence of the reporting process for the Open Advice Review program, the Commonwealth Bank will not be releasing interim information regarding matters that will be the subject of the independent reporting,” said CBA.
