A report from the Banking Code Compliance Committee (BCCC) has revealed important lessons for all financial firms in managing the affairs of deceased customers.

The report, ’More work to do: A report on the management of deceased estates’, examined the practices of six banks, including all four major banks, and found instances of poor practice and non-compliance.

It highlights significant risks in common poor practices, including:

• Central systems and processes not providing a complete view of each customer.
• Teams and responsibilities dispersed and disconnected across the organisation.
• Inadequate specific and targeted training and guidance for staff.

The inquiry found non-compliance with the Banking Code in three main areas:

• Applying fees and charges to accounts of deceased customers despite being notified of their passing.
• Failing to act on requests for information or instructions within the obligatory 14 days of receiving the necessary information.
• Failing to treat representatives and family of deceased customers with the respect and compassion expected in the circumstances.

To help improve industry practices, the report presents nine recommendations that all financial services firms should consider when looking at their own management of deceased customers’ estates. Key recommendations include:

• Ensure systems and processes, across all business units and subsidiary brands, provide a complete view of each customer.
• Review and analyse delays to requests or instructions from representatives of deceased customers to understand the root causes and work on improvements.
• Ensure all staff are trained to communicate with the sensitivity, respect and compassion expected for representatives of deceased customers.

Importantly, the report also notes examples of good practice from banks, which offer crucial lessons for the financial services industry as a whole.

Although the banks that participated in the inquiry have invested significantly in improvements in recent years, the results have been slow and the BCCC had expected better. We encourage you to read the report on the BCCC website.