News: CBA UPDATE 1-Australia court dismisses corporate regulator's appeal on CBA lawsuit

(Adds background and details on the lawsuit in paragraphs 2-6)

Aug 17 (Reuters) - Australia's Full Federal Court has dismissed an appeal by the country's corporate regulator against an earlier Federal Court decision to stop proceedings against top lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) for allegedly breaching conflicted remuneration laws, the regulator said on Thursday.

In June 2020, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) filed a petition against CBA and its unit Colonial First State accusing them of a scheme where the bank took commission to sell products for its unit, a banned practice known as conflicted remuneration.

The proceedings, however, were dismissed by the Federal Court in September last year and the ASIC launched an appeal against the dismissal in October.

"ASIC pursued this matter because conflicted remuneration has the potential to cause consumers to be given financial product advice that may not suit their needs," ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court said in a statement.

The regulator noted that the Full Court clarified the meaning and reach of the conflicted remuneration provisions for future matters.

ASIC said it will consider the judgment carefully and that it has 28 days to lodge any application for special leave to appeal to the High Court, if it decides to do so.