Screech! That's the sound of the credit brake

The ANZ Business Outlook Survey reports a net 65% of businesses expect it to be tougher to get credit over the year ahead. (Image: Getty)

Cameron Bagrie

Tue, 14 Dec 2021

Screech. That is the sound of the credit brakes being applied. Some of the deceleration is temporary and appropriate, but elsewhere, some facets need re-examining. Well-intended regulation to protect the vulnerable from loan sharks, stemming from the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act (CCCFA), is having ludicrous consequences.The availability of credit has tightened significantly for home and small-to-medium-sized (SME) business loans, with a friend describing the tightening as “insane”. It is one of many factors dr...

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