- National Australia Bank has put its media-buying account out to tender. NAB said it had invited a selected group of agencies to participate in a closed tender process. The bank said the incumbent, Zenith Optimedia (which has held the account for six years), had been invited to participate in the pitch process.
- The plaintiffs in the class action against ANZ, over the alleged over-charging of penalty fees, will have their appeal against an adverse ruling in the Federal Court heard by the High Court, in Canberra, today. The bank is defending a class action being brought against it by 34,000 claimants who seek the refund of an estimated A$50 million in fees. A ruling by Justice Michelle Gordon, in December, found that 13 of the 17 fees "are not capable of being characterised as a penalty". It is this ruling, on a point of law – rather than the facts of the case, such as ANZ's rationale for the level of the fees – that the High Court will consider.
