CBA reveals loss of nearly 20 million bank account records

The bank lost two magnetic tapes containing 15 years of customer data.

Reuters reports that The Commonwealth Bank of Australia was forced to reveal the loss of customer records of 19.8 million accounts, adding to a list of scandals plaguing the country’s largest bank.

Also read: Australian banks under tight scrutiny for a decade of corporate wrongdoing 

CBA acting group executive for Retail Banking Services Angus Sullivan issued an apology on YouTube after BuzzFeed Australia broke the story.

Sullivan reported that the bank discovered the loss of two magnetic tapes containing 15 years of customer data, addresses and account numbers. The tapes were scheduled to be disposed of but CBA could not confirm whether they were securely destroyed.

“The decision was taken not to alert customers given the outcome of our investigation which found the tapes were most likely disposed of,” Sullivan said. “In these cases, we balanced the need to alert customers without unnecessarily alarming them.”

The revelation comes as the bank is still reeling from allegations of money laundering with the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority slapping CBA with an extra $753m (A$1b) capital requirement for violations.

Here's more from Reuters.