In a recent speech the ASIC Chair gave the following update on its review of responsible lending:
We are updating our responsible lending guidance to provide more certainty for lenders and mortgage brokers. This will encourage more consistent practices across the industry, while retaining flexibility for licensees to appropriately tailor lending processes to the circumstances of borrowers.
We are conducting a public consultation to update our responsible lending guidance.
And, for the first time as part of this process, we will be holding public hearings to robustly test some of the issues and views that have been raised in submissions.
I will take the opportunity here to acknowledge that while the responsible lending requirements have remained unchanged for almost a decade, and that we have been consistent in our expectations of those requirements, we know house prices have declined over the past year, with fewer consumers seeking finance.
Through any economic cycle, responsible provision of credit is critical to the long-term sustainability of the economy as well as being a cornerstone consumer protection. This is why we have the responsible lending requirements and why we are consulting to update our expectations on them.
UPDATE
The public hearings will take place during August. The hearings will be held in Melbourne and Sydney, but may involve participants from other parts of Australia.
