(Adds background on inquiry, details on fee review by regulatory bodies)
April 18 (Reuters) - Commonwealth Bank of Australia's (CBA) CBA.AX pension arm said on Thursday it planned to cut annual fees by about A$68 million ($48.81 million), after the country's main financial regulators called for reduced fees.
This comes after a damaging year-long inquiry into the financial sector that exposed widespread misconduct, including customers being forced to pay fees for services that they had not received. pension arm, Colonial First State, which CBA intents to sell, expects the fee cuts to pull down its net profit after tax by about A$45 million in the 2020 financial year.
The fee cuts will take effect from early June and benefit more than 500,000 members, Colonial said.
Earlier this month, the Australian Prudential (LON:PRU) Regulation Authority (APRA) and the Australian Securities and Investment Commissions (ASIC) started a review https://www.apra.gov.au/sites/default/files/apra_asic_letter_oversight_of_fees_charged_to_members_superannuation_accounts.pdf of superannuation fees and existing levels of governance.
The review is expected to be completed by the end of June.
($1 = 1.3931 Australian dollars)