(29 July 2005 – Australia) The new look National Australia Bank is still dealing with skeletons in the closet from the previous regime with the latest one being the overcharging of fees on financial packages to businesses over the past two decades.The bank said the issue dated back to 1982 when a bank accounts debits tax was originally introduced with overcharging on fees occurring since 1994 when the first package was launched.
As a result, NAB said it would reimburse the 200,000 affected customers A$80 million in total.
NAB said the estimated overcharging for the fees and taxes amounted to approximately A$62 million before tax. A further A$18 million in interest will be paid to customers, consisting of A$4 million of debits tax and A$14 million for package fees.
The bank said it would also set aside A$30 million for remedial activities and contingencies.
NAB Australia chief executive Ahmed Fahour apologised to customers, blaming human error and the bank’s previously complicated lending procedures.