The latest revelations about the Commonwealth Bank only reinforce what many Australians already know: the big four banks remain some of the most obstructive and self-serving bureaucracies consumers ever have to deal with. As reported by Max Aitchison in The Australian on December 23, 2025, CBA has confirmed it will refund just a fraction of the $270 million in “excessive” fees it charged low-income customers—fees identified by ASIC as wholly inappropriate for people who should have been eligible for low- or no-fee accounts.

Instead of accepting responsibility, CBA’s chief executive Matt Comyn spent months defending the bank’s refusal to repay customers. In a parliamentary hearing only weeks ago, he went so far as to argue that issuing refunds would amount to an “appropriation” of shareholder money—as though ensuring fair treatment of disadvantaged customers was somehow an unreasonable burden.

ASIC’s Better and Beyond report made it clear: between 2019 and 2024, CBA and Bankwest slugged 2.2 million low-income Australians with account-keeping, dishonour and overdraw fees that other major banks, including Westpac, ANZ and Bendigo, have since agreed to refund in full. But CBA, yet again, dug in its heels.

Now, after public pressure and significant scrutiny, the bank has announced it will return only $68 million in so-called “goodwill adjustments”, bringing its total refunds to about $93 million—barely one-third of what ASIC identified. While CBA insists there were “no instances of unlawful conduct” and that fees were charged strictly under “terms and conditions”, that argument does little to justify why vulnerable customers were ever caught in the bank’s bureaucratic machinery in the first place.

Parliamentary economics committee chair Ed Husic captured the sentiment of many Australians when he said every overcharged customer should get their money back “quick smart”—adding that if it were customers owing the bank money, CBA would have moved far more swiftly.

Even consumer groups have been blunt: as Choice’s Morgan Campbell put it, the bank had to be dragged “kicking and screaming” to do the right thing.

ASIC commissioner Alan Kirkland welcomed the movement, but noted what many Australians already believe: it should never take multiple reviews, public scrutiny and political pressure to force a major bank to meet basic community expectations.