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- Accounting company CountPlus (CUP) has revealed that a class action has been filed against its subsidiary Count Financial
- Law firm Piper Alderman filed the proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia, seeking financial compensation
- CountPlus acquired Count Financial from Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) in 2019, in the aftermath of the Royal Banking Commission
- The claim is related to commissions paid to Count Financial and its advisers regarding financial services from 2014 to 2020
- CountPlus closed in the grey for 97 cents per share
Accounting company CountPlus (CUP) has announced that a class action has been filed against its subsidiary Count Financial.
The proceedings, which seek financial compensation, were filed in the Federal Court of Australia by Australian law firm Piper Alderman.
The class action is related to commissions paid to Count Financial and its authorised representative financial advisers, as well as obligations to provide ongoing support.
The parties were paid in respect to financial products and services (including insurance), and were obliged to provide support from August 21, 2014 to August 21, 2020.
Count Financial is only a recent addition to the CountPlus family, after it was acquired from Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) on October 1, 2019. The company first announced its plans to purchase the financial advisory business for $2.5 million in June of 2019.
The acquisition was partly the result of Commonwealth Bank attempting to distance itself from financial advice businesses, following the Royal Banking Commission. In the aftermath of the scandal-ridden Commission, CBA looked to offload various businesses, including Count Financial and Aussie Home Loans.
At the time of the acquisition, CountPlus received an indemnity of approximately $300 million from Commonwealth Bank Australia. This protective payment was related to certain conduct which occurred before and after the acquisition of Count Financial took place.
Under the agreement, CBA also agreed to continue managing customer remediation related to past issues, once the acquisition was complete. It is not known if Commonwealth Bank will have any part in the class action proceedings which will now take place.
At this time, Count Financial is reviewing the claim filed by Piper Alderman. Its new parent company, CountPlus, will provide updates on the class action as it unfolds.
CountPlus closed in the grey for 97 cents per share.
