In recent weeks, Lindsay David and Philip Soos of LF Economics has made a number of Freedom of Information requests of APRA and the RBA with some startling results. The most recent was to APRA:
Under the Freedom of Information Act, LF Economics seeks to obtain documentation or be advised the following statistics from APRA:
– How many fines, penalties, or imprisonments have been issued to an ADI (Authorised Deposit-taking institution), ADI executive, or ADI employee by APRA for fraudulently tampering the Loan Application Form of a home loan applicant in the last eight years?
– How many formal investigations has APRA conducted in relation to ADI’s fraudulently tampering the Loan Application Form of a home loan applicant in the last eight years?
– If an investigation has been conducted by APRA into an ADI fraudulently tampering the Loan Application Form of a home loan applicant in the last eight years, what documentation does ASIC request from the ADI to provide APRA evidence that the ADI has, or has not fraudulently tampered the Loan Application Form of a home loan applicant?
– If any fines were issued to an ADI, ADI executive or ADI employee for fraudulently tampering the Loan Application Form of a home loan applicant in the last eight years, what was the size of the fine?
And the response:
That leaves us only able to conclude that APRA has failed to prosecute one single case of mortgage fraud in the banks or that it is able for some reason to hide the fact.
Moreover, LF Economic recently made another FOI request of the RBA:
And the decision:
Since this exchange the RBA has stopped responding to all LF Economics requests.
In short, where there’s smoke there’s fire.
