Business lender Green County Pty Ltd and its loan introducer, Max Funding Pty Ltd, have been ordered to pay combined penalties of $515,000 by the Federal Court in relation to four loans provided by Green County to two consumers in breach of consumer credit laws.
Green County was fined $405,000 for engaging in unlicensed credit activity and breaching consumer protection provisions. Max Funding was fined $110,000 for engaging in unlicensed credit activity.
The Court earlier found Green County and Max Funding, neither of which have ever held an Australian credit licence allowing them to engage in consumer lending, failed to make reasonable inquiries or otherwise establish that the loans provided to the two consumers were business loans.
ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court said, 'Green County and Max Funding failed to properly inquire about the true purpose of loans issued to two vulnerable borrowers. As a result, those borrowers did not benefit from the important protections available under the Credit Code.
'The matter sends a message to credit providers that relying on business purpose declarations without making reasonable enquiries is not good enough and highlights the ongoing work ASIC is doing as part of our enduring priority to stop misconduct involving a high risk of significant consumer harm.'
In handing down his decision, Justice Shariff said, 'Although not deliberate conduct, neither Green County nor Max Funding made adequate inquiries to scrutinise the materials they were provided given those materials begged many questions.'
His Honour also noted that 'the effect of that regulatory regime brings into sharp focus that those lenders who intend to engage in the business of non-Code lending and non-Code credit activity have to exercise considerable care and give attention to the circumstances of each relevant consumer in respect of whom credit is to be advanced.'
