30 August 2023 - As cost of living pressures persist ASIC calls on lenders to support customers in financial hardship

ASIC has released an open letter to lenders—which has been sent directly to 30 large lenders—calling on them to make sure they appropriately support customers experiencing financial hardship.

ASIC is seeing evidence that an increasing number of customers are experiencing financial distress and difficulty due to cost-of-living pressures. In this context, it is critically important that lenders have appropriate arrangements to respond to and support consumers experiencing financial hardship.

In the letter ASIC sets out expectations of lenders to meet their obligations. These include:

• proactively communicating how and when customers can seek assistance,
• genuinely considering customer circumstances to develop sustainable solutions where possible, and
• communicating regularly with customers throughout and at the end of the assistance period.