CBA avoids damages in shareholder class action appeal

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has announced the final orders from the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia concerning appeals in the Zonia and Baron shareholder class actions. The court concluded that the appellants did not demonstrate any loss, resulting in no award of damages. The appeal judgment was delivered on 7 May 2025.

The final orders formalised a declaration that CBA contravened continuous disclosure obligations by failing to disclose certain matters around 24 April 2017. While the appellants' individual claims have been dismissed, the proceedings will be remitted to a single judge for case management of additional claims from group members. These potential claims must not rely on alleged inflation of CBA's share price between 24 April 2017 and 3 August 2017.

This announcement was authorised for release by CBA's Disclosure Committee.