Commonwealth Bank owes compensation over advice, watchdog says

Australia's biggest bank is expected to pay about A$1.9m (£1.1m; $1.5m) in compensation to customers who received "inappropriate" advice from five financial planners, a regulator says.

It follows a compliance review of issues at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission said.

The review had investigated instances where advice had led to losses.

Australia's top lender has been embroiled in other scandals recently.

More than 3,500 customers of the five advisers have been contacted by the bank following the review, Australia's corporate regulator said.

Commonwealth Bank was still reviewing the files of affected customers and more compensation was "likely", according to the watchdog.

The bank said earlier this month that the "vast majority of assessment outcomes" would be made to customers by the end of January, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Last year, Commonwealth Bank admitted it was late to disclose 53,506 transactions that allegedly breached anti-money laundering laws.

It was also embroiled in a legal tussle over how much it tells shareholders about its exposure to climate change.

Australia's banks and financial institutions will be scrutinised by a royal commission - the nation's highest form of public inquiry - later this year, to determine the extent of alleged misconduct in the sector.