Brokers should not be upset when their profession is splashed across headlines for all the wrong reasons because of rogue members, ASIC deputy chair
Peter Kell said.
In a speech to the
MFAA national conference on the Gold Coast yesterday, Kell said ASIC does not target brokers as some think, but instead removes brokers from the industry for good reason.
“There has been some suggestion in the industry that, in relation to loan fraud, ASIC is targeting finance brokers.
“[But] those we remove from the market, or criminally prosecute, have been the subject of these actions for good reason… we will take action regardless of who breaches the law.”
Cracking down helps consumer confidence that the market is being regulated and a fairer environment for those that are doing the right thing, he said.
“We have no tolerance for loan fraud involving false loan applications and related documents, and we have had a campaign to identify and crack down on misconduct of this sort.”
ASIC has banned 42 people – 19 permanently – since the introduction of the National Credit Act. Almost half of these bans are from people submitting falsified documents to lenders.
“We have also recently been successful in obtaining several criminal convictions for loan fraud, which indicates the seriousness of this activity. There are more such matters in the pipeline, as we send the message that loan fraud is unacceptable,” Kell said.
He thanked brokers and the MFAA for identifying dishonest operators, as many of the bans are from the industry alerting ASIC to inappropriate behavior.
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