Retail Banking – Recent experience
Following are some of the areas on which we focus. An unprecedented number of these are going through review and radical change at present. We have the skills and experience to help you manage that change as efficiently as possible.
Consumer credit
The Consumer Credit Code applies in a variety of circumstances. We have extensive experience in addressing compliance with the Code, not just in consumer lending, but in transactions as wide ranging as the securitisation of regulated loans, margin lending facilities and the issue of instalment warrants.
Code of Banking Practice
The new Code of Banking Practice will present some new challenges, especially for products offered to small business. We have significant experience applying and interpreting the requirements of the Code, from its earliest days as a voluntary series of aspirational principles of good banking practice, to its present place as a cornerstone of the regulation of consumer banking relationships. This context provides an unparalleled foundation from which to interpret and apply the changes flowing from the launch of the new Code.
Electronic Funds Transfer Code of Conduct
The new EFT Code, significantly reformed and in effect from 1 April 2002, is technology neutral and designed to apply across the full range of electronic transactions. We can help you ensure that your card products meet the requirements of the new Code and also that electronic or online services, which were not subject to the old Code, comply with the new requirements.
Privacy
National Privacy Principles under the Privacy Act 1988 now apply across the private sector. We have particular expertise in addressing the issues faced by financial institutions, including the interrelationship between the new privacy regime and the laws affecting credit providers and credit reporting. We have also advised on the special issues which arise with outsourcing and providing financial services online.
Financial Services Reform
The FSR amendments to the Corporations Act fundamentally change many of the regulatory and disclosure obligations faced by financial institutions. Our depth of experience in banking sector regulation and in preparing for the Consumer Credit Code, which in some respects had similar impacts on documentation and processes, enables us to provide informed advice on the application of the new rules and what you must do to comply.
eCommerce
We are experienced in helping our clients maximise opportunities presented by advances in technology. Our team has been involved in many of the groundbreaking developments including electronic payment systems, B2B hubs, electronic contract formation, digital signature technology, data aggregation and online capital raising and bond distribution. We also have experience in identifying and addressing the evolving jurisdictional issues raised by transacting in cyberspace and numerous other legal issues including those arising from online security measures and Real Time Gross Settlements.
Card products
We have a strong track record in dealing with the complex and interlocking matrix of contracts and detailed regulations that control credit card services. Accordingly, we are well placed to assist you in resolving issues arising from the provision of card services and in meeting the challenges of the current Reserve Bank of Australia review.
Third party arrangements
Arrangements such as outsourcing, strategic alliances, loyalty reward schemes involving third-party administrators and reward suppliers, co-branding arrangements and mortgage broking and referral can all give rise to privacy, prudential, competition law and other regulatory issues. We have the resources and experience to address these issues and provide your project with timely, commercially sound advice.
Financial Transactions Reports Act
We offer creative solutions that meet the stringent requirements of the FTRA, while enabling you to get on with business.
Private label transactional facilities
Stockbrokers and managers of investment vehicles such as securitisation trusts, cash management trusts and other pooled investments are interested in offering customers the same transactional capacity as that available through the banks' at-call investment accounts. We have significant experience acting for banks on the provision of transactional functionality to their institutional clients. This includes establishing deposit accounts for brokerage customers, card functionality for securitised home loan borrowers and a range of transactional banking facilities for unitholders in cash management trusts. These arrangements involve applying the Consumer Credit Code, EFT Code, FTRA and other laws and regulations in situations quite different from those within which they were first envisaged to operate. We are well equipped to meet such challenges.
