ASIC moves on credit licensing
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has made its first move towards licensing consumer credit businesses as part of the transition to new national consumer credit laws.
As of 30 June 2011, ASIC had licensed 24,000 credit representatives and 6081 businesses, 564 of which provided financial planning services.
ASIC Commissioner Peter Boxall said the new laws officially came into effect as of 1 July 2011, meaning all businesses that provide consumer credit services now need to be licensed.
ASIC had to formally refuse four licence applications, impose additional compliance conditions on 11 licences, and ask many applicants to submit compliance plans before receiving their licences.
The majority of licences were distributed to firms in New South Wales (37 per cent), followed by Victoria (23 per cent), Queensland (20 per cent) and Western Australia (13 per cent).
ASIC announced it would be conducting continuing compliance and surveillance work, including a national program to identify unregistered and unlicensed credit activity through those companies advertising credit services without a licence.
It would also be focusing on responsible lending in the home loan and payday lending markets, consumer leases for white goods and other domestic goods, and debt reduction and consolidation schemes.
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