Via the ABC:
Westpac and the corporate regulator have returned to court for the first day of a potential eight-day hearing on responsible lending, which could have wide ramifications for other banks and the home loan market.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) accused Westpac of breaking the law when it approved loans using the Household Expenditure Measure (HEM) — a relatively low estimate of basic living expenses — rather than customers’ actual declared living costs in its automated loan approval system.
