Commonwealth Bank of Australia is facing another lawsuit less than a week after the country's anti-money laundering regulator filed a civil lawsuit against the bank for alleged violation of money laundering and counterterrorism financing laws.
Guy and Kim Abrahams, who bought shares of the bank during the 1990s, sued the lender after it did not name climate change as an investment risk in its 2016 annual report, Reuters said in an Aug. 8 report.
Legal firm Environmental Justice Australia filed the proceedings on behalf of the shareholders.
The Australian bank failed to give a true and fair view of its financial position and performance as required by law when they did not disclose the risks climate change may pose to its business, the firm said in a same-day statement.
Further, the claim alleges that the directors' report in the 2016 annual report did not adequately disclose climate change risks that investors required to make an informed assessment of the bank's operations, financial position, business strategies and prospects for future financial years.
The claim also seeks a ruling to stop the bank from making the same omissions in future annual reports.
The firm noted that this is the first time shareholders of a bank have sued for insufficient disclosure of climate change-related investment risks in its annual report.
The bank did not immediately comment on the lawsuit, Reuters said.