Australian Lenders Failing Legal Obligation to Help Customers Experiencing Hardship

The application process for financial hardship assistance is too hard, and many people who receive it simply go back into arrears immediately afterwards, a study by the Australians Securities and Investments Commissions (ASIC) has found. It says lenders need to do much more to support customers who may be vulnerable to losing their homes. “We found that in a number of respects, banks and other lenders are failing to live up to community expectations,” said ASIC Commissioner Alan Kirkland. “They’ve got processes that are so complicated and convoluted that more than a third of people have dropped out of the process at least once after lodging a notice of hardship.”...