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Banks have made significant progress in supporting vulnerable and diverse customers following recommendations from the Banking Code Compliance Committee (BCCC) in its 2021 report on inclusivity and accessibility.
The BCCC recently concluded a follow-up inquiry that assessed banks’ progress in implementing key recommendations from the original 2021 report.
The findings have been published in the latest BCCC report, Banking on inclusivity: Banks doing more to support vulnerable customers.
The inquiry found that banks have enhanced their policies, procedures, and staff training to better meet the needs of customers who require additional care or tailored support.
Chair of the BCCC, Ian Govey, commended the efforts of the banks.
“It is pleasing to see that banks have improved support for vulnerable customers. By strengthening internal frameworks and removing barriers to access, banks are taking steps to ensure fair outcomes,” Govey said.
The follow-up report highlights several key improvements, including the removal of barriers for appointing third-party authorities, such as financial counsellors, to act on behalf of customers. The report also stressed the importance of embedding these changes into daily operations, with measures like reviews and quality assurance processes.
“Banks must ensure these improvements continue to deliver tangible outcomes for customers. Proactive monitoring and staff engagement are key to achieving this,” Govey said.
However, the BCCC also identified areas where further work is needed. These include considering customer vulnerability during product design, providing accessible information for customers with limited English, and consistently responding promptly to requests from third-party representatives.
“Banks must continue to improve and develop their practices in this area,” Govey said.
“The evolving financial landscape coupled with community expectations demands ongoing attention to inclusivity and accessibility. It is not about meeting base level standards; banks should strive to be at the forefront and lead by example.”
The BCCC encourages banks to consider the recommendations and good practice examples in its follow-up report to identify further opportunities to improve their practices.
Around May last year, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) published its findings in the report titled Hardship, hard to get help: Lenders fall short in financial hardship support, which criticised lenders for not doing enough to support customers facing financial hardship.
ASIC said the review found that lenders should be doing more to support Australians who are struggling to meet their repayments.
The report said that some home loan lenders have made accessing financial assistance so difficult that 35 per cent of lender customers dropped out of the application process at least once.
Further, the report said that 40 per cent of customers who obtained hardship assistance through reduction or deferral of payments fell into arrears right after the assistance period ended.
[RELATED: Lenders need to do better on financial hardship assistance: ASIC]
