Consultation opens on initial changes to lending requirements

In March the Government announced initial changes to the CCCFA regulations and the Responsible Lending Code.

These changes seek to address some issues that have been heard since changes to the CCCFA came into effect in December 2021, such as unnecessary inquiries by lenders into living expenses on bank statements.

Today MBIE has released an exposure draft of the regulations and the Responsible Lending Code changes for consultation. Interested parties are encouraged to provide feedback to ensure that the changes work in practice and do not result in any unintended consequences. Consultation is open for 2 weeks, closing on Wednesday 20 April 2022. Following feedback, the changes are expected to be in force in June.

Exposure draft of updated Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Regulations 2004 and Responsible Lending Code

As work on these initial changes is progressed, the remainder of the investigation into the initial implementation of changes to the CCCFA will continue. This is being led by MBIE, in collaboration with members of the Council of Financial Regulators (CoFR), to consider the scale and nature of the impacts, and assess what, if any, further actions are needed. The investigation is expected to conclude in April. The Terms of Reference for the investigation are available below.

Investigation into the impacts of recent changes under the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003: Terms of Reference [PDF, 94 KB]