The Sydney Morning Herald --- Page: 12 : 12 March 2008 Original article by John Kavanagh
LexisNexis Summary
Dealing with customers having problems with payments is one area where Australian banks have not performed well. Their treatment of those experiencing financial difficulties was criticised by the Code Compliance Monitoring Committee and the Banking & Financial Services Ombudsman in 2007. Banks have an obligation under the Code of Banking Practice to address payment problems in consultation with customers. The ombudsman said banks need to communicate better with customers about hardship provisions. Banks including Westpac Banking and ANZ Bank have started to make some progress in this area, improving identification of customers in financial stress and addressing repayment issues before they become a major problem.
