National Australia Bank (NAB) is being sued over the handling of hardship applications from hundreds of vulnerable clients.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has filed documents in the Federal Court claiming NAB failed 345 of its customers “at their most vulnerable when they applied for hardship support from the bank”.
ASIC Chair Joe Longo said the ASIC alleged that between 2018 and 2023, NAB, and its subsidiary AFSH Nominees Pty Ltd (AFSH), did not respond to 345 hardship applications within the 21-day timeframe required by law.
“We allege NAB unlawfully failed to respond to their customers’ appeal for help when they needed them most,” Mr Lugo said.
“These customers included people who were domestic violence victims, battling serious medical conditions, dealing with business closures or job loss. NAB’s failures likely compounded the already challenging situation for these people.”
Mr Lugo said amidst rising cost of living pressures there had been an increased number of customers reaching out to lenders for relief.
“We have seen first-hand the impact on lives and livelihoods when lenders fail to appropriately support customers experiencing financial hardship.”
He said compliance with financial hardship obligations was an enforcement priority for ASIC in 2024.
“Earlier this year, we put the lending industry on notice on the release of our hardship report.
‘We will not hesitate to take decisive action when banks and lenders fail to comply with their obligations.”
He said ASIC was seeking declarations, pecuniary penalties and adverse publicity orders against NAB and AFSH.
