A Commonwealth Bank banker earning up to $450,000 a year has lost his unfair dismissal fight after the Fair Work Commission branded his evidence as a 'chaotic collection of lies'.
Shun Wang, a home lending executive responsible for assessing and approving loan applications, challenged his dismissal after the CBA concluded he had breached lending, privacy and technology policies.
A former Reserve Bank auditor, he was earning a $250,000 base salary and was eligible for bonuses worth up to $200,000 per year.
But an internal investigation was launched after CBA's SpeakUP whistleblower program received an anonymous complaint in November 2024, the judgement noted.
The commission heard that it uncovered failures to properly verify and record customer income, as well as his use of WeChat and a personal mobile phone to discuss customer loan matters.
While investigators cleared Mr Wang of allegations that he was refinancing problematic home loans and no improper payments occurred, the commission was told a broader review found company JS Sonic and some of the refinanced customers paid tens of thousands of dollars to a previously unidentified third party.
Payments to Zonghui 'Hugo' Feng, whom the CBA suspected may have been acting as a mortgage broker, were made at around the same time the loans were approved, the commission noted in its decision.
The FWC decision said the bank's investigation found five customers referred through JS Sonic paid Feng almost $49,000, while JS Sonic itself made six payments to him totalling more than $81,000. Regis Lawyers also made six payments worth more than $61,000, with descriptions including 'service fee' and 'referral fee'.
The Fair Work Commission found the Commonwealth Bank had a valid reason to terminate senior lender Shun Wang's employment
CBA viewed the payments as a red flag, the commission decision said, and the bank noted it appeared Feng may have been referring customers through JS Sonic and receiving payments despite not being an approved referral partner, contrary to the bank's referral program rules.
Mortgage brokers are prohibited from participating in the program, either directly or indirectly, the FWC noted.
Many of the customers referred through JS Sonic and Regis Lawyers had supplied financial documents prepared by the same accounting firm, Accountants Direct Pty Ltd, according to the judgment.
Although the commission stopped short of finding any improper payments were made, it noted the payments were viewed by the bank as a significant red flag that helped trigger the broader investigation.
Both JS Sonic and Regis Lawyers were later removed from the referral program, according to the decision.
Deputy President Gerard Boyce was scathing of Mr Wang's evidence, describing it as a 'chaotic collection of lies, nonsense, poorly matched ideas, and manufactured responses'.
The commission heard Mr Wang repeatedly denied knowing Zonghui 'Hugo' Feng during the investigation.
However, the commission heard that a forensic review of his work phone uncovered a contact saved as 'Hugo', while investigators found evidence of a WeChat group involving Mr Wang, referral partner Weijie 'Jack' Qin and Feng that was used to share customer leads and loan updates.
Deputy President Gerard Boyce (pictured) was scathing of Mr Wang's evidence, describing it as a 'chaotic collection of lies, nonsense, poorly matched ideas, and manufactured responses'
Deputy President Boyce ultimately rejected Mr Wang's claim he knew Feng only as 'Old Hu', describing the explanation as 'unbridled nonsense' and a 'complete fabrication'.
He found the bank had valid reasons to dismiss the senior lender, saying 'the falsity' of Mr Wang's evidence was 'inescapable and self-evident'.
'Mr Wang knew exactly who Hugo [or Hugo Feng] was at the first meeting, but thought he could get away with pretending otherwise,' he wrote in his published decision.
'Mr Wang not only intentionally misled the [CBA's] SpeakUP investigators, he has sought to intentionally mislead the Commission.'
The commission also heard Mr Wang admitted failing to properly record employment income in some loan applications because he had, in his words, 'forgot' and, in one case, was 'lazy to verify the PAYG income'.
Mr Wang also admitted providing loan approval and settlement updates through the WeChat group. The commission heard the messages had been deleted before investigators could review them.
The commission found Mr Wang failed to properly verify customer income, improperly discussed loan matters on WeChat and a personal phone, and repeatedly misled investigators about his relationship with Feng.
Dismissing the unfair dismissal claim, Deputy President Boyce found the bank had a valid reason to terminate Mr Wang's employment.
'The consequences that flow from [Mr Wang's] conduct, financially and reputationally, are all on him,' he said.
The decision comes as ASIC prepares a sweeping review of bank referrer programs, lender incentives and mortgage broker oversight, with the regulator set to scrutinise the entire mortgage pipeline from bank lenders and third-party referrers to broker networks and lending controls.
The Commonwealth Bank has been contacted for comment.
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