Hello everyone,
To date there have been no substantial changes announced to the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act (CCCFA) MBIE have now finished their review of the changes introduced last year and presented their report to Commerce Minister David Clark. The Minister is currently reading through the recommendations made by MBIE however we don’t anticipate much else will be changing in the immediate future.
Those changes that are going to be implemented to the Act on the 7th July will not assist borrowers significantly based on the conversations that I have had with the banks. Unfortunately, the changes don’t address the now required detailed list of expenses to be captured and verified, which is driving extensive and time-consuming inquiries particularly into customer’s living and regular, recurring expenses. This is a significant departure from how banks have historically assessed whether a customer can afford a loan. Rather than making things easier for borrowers, the confirmed changes risk raising hopes of a solution that hasn’t been delivered.
There appears to be no sense of urgency from the Government to address what many in the industry see now as been a contributing factor to the current economic slowdown and the increasing likelihood that we are heading into a recession.
If there are any additional loosening of the CCCFA lending rules, I will update you.
Kind Regards
Simon