The Federal Court has dismissed ASIC's application in relation to alleged breaches of consumer credit provisions by Cigno Pty Ltd (Cigno) and BHF Solutions Pty Ltd (BHF Solutions), finding that the lending model they operated did not contravene the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (National Credit Act).
BHF Solutions and Cigno operate a lending model that provides small amounts of credit to a large number of consumers and charges substantial fees on the amounts borrowed. Neither BHF Solutions nor Cigno holds, or has ever held, an Australian credit licence.
ASIC commenced proceedings against Cigno and BHF Solutions in September 2020 seeking declarations of contravention and injunctions (20-226MR).
'ASIC took this case in order to protect vulnerable consumers from what we believed to be a harmful lending model,' said ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court.
'ASIC will carefully consider the judgment before deciding on our response'.
