The big four banks have all tumbled lower today after they followed the lead of their U.S. counterparts.
The worst performer in the group has been the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price.
The shares of Australia’s oldest bank were down as much as 6% at one stage. They have since recovered somewhat, but are still down almost 4% to $17.80 at the time of writing.
Why is the Westpac share price sinking lower?
As well as getting caught up in a selloff which has been triggered by concerns over a potential second wave of COVID-19 in the United States, an update by Westpac could be adding to the selling pressure.
Earlier today, Westpac provided an update on its dealings with AUSTRAC. This is in relation to the civil proceedings the agency launched against the bank in November. This was for the alleged contraventions of its obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act.
According to the release, Westpac has continued to review its processes and as part of that has disclosed to AUSTRAC issues regarding its obligation to file threshold transaction reports.
In addition to this, a month after the civil proceedings were launched, as part of Westpac’s lookback announced in its response to AUSTRAC’s claim, Westpac reported additional suspicious matter reports (SMRs) in relation to potential child exploitation.
This morning the bank revealed that AUSTRAC is further investigating these matters and has advised that it may amend its statement of claim to include allegations arising from these investigations.
AUSTRAC has requested further information from the bank on these matters. This includes the details of 272 of its customers, many of whom were subject to SMRs previously.
A further case management hearing is scheduled for next week. Management intends to provide further updates on the matter when appropriate.
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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.
The post Westpac share price lower on AUSTRAC update appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.
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