Calls for industry to embrace responsible lending charter
The Financial Services Union (FSU) is calling on the Government and the financial services industry to embrace its Charter of Responsible Lending in the wake of the collapse of Storm Financial.
FSU national policy director Rod Masson said the failure of Storm was “yet another example” of the need for government and industry to endorse a charter of responsible lending.
He said the charter, which it has developed in consultation with other groups in the industry, would include “not just margin lending but also pick up personal credit offers to consumers”.
“What we would be seeking through the charter is effectively to insert a layer of professionalism for employees in the sector and at the same time provide consumers with transparency as to their investment risk.”
Masson said the FSU’s 50,000 members are currently “under enormous stress to sell debt, whether in the context of margin lending or home loans or selling credit cards”.
“We think there’s a dilemma there and we need to ensure lending is being done responsibly to try and remove what could potentially be a conflict of interest due to poor practices in the area,” he said.
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