A mortgage originator who processes a loan application knowing of significant discrepancies in income figures across multiple versions of documents, and who fails to make further inquiry or conduct a personal interview with the borrower, may be found to have acted unconscionably under s 12CB(1) of the ASIC Act, even where the originator was not aware of the underlying fraud. Wilful blindness to irregularities in loan documentation can supply the moral fault element required for statutory unconscionability. Low-doc loans secured against residential property and used for personal investment purposes are financial services 'ordinarily acquired for personal, domestic or household use' within s 12CB(5).
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 27 later cases that cite this judgment.
1 of the 27 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.