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ARTICLE · 27 FEBRUARY 2019

Where will the buck stop? Attribution of wrongdoing in a post Banking Royal Commission era

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Responsibility for misconduct was an overarching theme in the public hearings and in the final report of the Commission.

AustraliaFinance and Banking
Matthew Critchley
Matthew Critchley
Annabelle Browne
Annabelle Browne
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Responsibility for wrongdoing was an overarching theme of the public hearings in the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry (Commission) and in the Final Report released by Commissioner Kenneth Hayne on 1 February 2019 (Report).

A critical question for any financial service entity or officer facing litigation involving allegations of wrongdoing will be whether they are responsible at law for the alleged misconduct. Central to this will be the way in which Courts are likely to attribute motive, purpose and intention of individuals to corporations in light of the recent case of ASIC v Westpac [2018] FCA 751 (Westpac decision).

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