|
|
发表于 2018-12-14 20:06
来自手机
|显示全部楼层
此文章由 gplusplus 原创或转贴，不代表本站立场和观点，版权归 oursteps.com.au 和作者 gplusplus 所有！转贴必须注明作者、出处和本声明，并保持内容完整
Widespread mortgage fraud by Zenik Finance, loans issued by big four banks
Su-Lin Tan
By Su-Lin Tan
Updated 14 Dec 2018 — 4:38 PM,
first published at 3:40 PM
Save Article
Share
Sydney-based mortgage broker Zenik Finance Solution, which made nearly $1 billion in home loans for the big four banks and Macquarie Bank, has engaged in "widespread and systemic mortgage fraud" for years while the corporate watchdog ASIC watched on, a court has found.
Zenik brokers made fraudulent mortgage applications using fake bank statements and signatures, fictitious jobs and fabricated payslips and letters of employment.
It highlights the seriousness of the inflation of income in applications for home loans, a potential sub-prime crisis trigger which has not been fully investigated by the banking royal commission, analysts LF Economics say.
Zenik made loans for apartment buyers of Property Investors Alliance. Supplied
The Zenik brokers conducted their business through its aggregator and credit licensee, celebrity entrepreneur Mark Bouris' Vow Financial. It also fed off apartment purchases by its founder, Justin Wang's other company, the Sydney-based property investment club Property Investors Alliance (PIA).
Between 2013 and 2016, loans largely issued by Westpac and ANZ were used to fund apartment purchases, by mainly local and overseas Chinese buyers. These apartments were built by developers such as Dyldam, Toplace and Holdmark, and concentrated in western Sydney.
In the Fair Work case on the wrongful dismissal claim of former Zenik chief executive Leighton King, Judge Smith said Zenik's "internal quality assessment was ... no more than a tick-a-box exercise to check that all required documents were provided, not to determine their authenticity".
The frequency of false or inaccurate information obtained to support loan applications also "firmly establishes that Zenik brokers themselves were at least complicit in the giving of that information for the purposes of obtaining loans, and for the brokers, commissions".
While the case did not deal directly with fraud, evidence revealed the prevalence of fraud. An external audit by Ashurst tendered in court showed anomalies in Zenik's loan documents,
"In many cases, bank statements ... showed inconsistent or large transactions which were not questioned or did not correlate with the borrowers' stated fact-find expenses," Ashurst said.
Related
How ANZ, Westpac, St George, NAB and Macquarie kept Zenik broking fraud hidden
How ANZ, Westpac, St George, NAB and Macquarie kept Zenik broking fraud hidden
By Su-Lin Tan
"Examples of inconsistencies included very low living expenses and high transaction values in bank statements ... and omitting other loans ...
"Discussions around interest-only loans were generally not documented in the standard required ...
"Most files reviewed resulted in interest-only loans.
"There was a noticeable trend for expenses equalling HEM (Household Expenditure Measure) or the lender calculator figure."
Ashurst also noted that Zenik brokers spoke mainly in Mandarin and while they were given training in English, Zenik did not verify that the skills were understood or put in practice.
HEM has been heavily criticised by the banking royal commission for underestimating the amount of non-essential spending including entertainment and childcare, and it has been argued that the benchmark allows banks and brokers to write bigger loans.
Mr King sought compensation from Mr Wang and PIA for terminating his employment and for failing to disclose the fraud in the company before he took up the job. Judge Smith ordered the payment for the breach of workplace rights and unpaid leave and notices, but did not rule in favour of compensation.
He said Mr Wang, notwithstanding his duties as a director, was not aware of the extent and nature of fraud to mislead Mr King.
Local Chinese customers attend PIA Justin Wang's seminars. supplied
The regulator ASIC told AFR Weekend it was aware of the matter but could not comment.
All big four banks said they have terminated their relationship with Zenik but declined to comment on the loan applications. Macquarie Bank did not respond, while Yellow Brick Road declined to comment.
LF Economics analysts who have long campaigned against poor mortgage lending practices say these "low doc loans" – loans that do not have verifiable income – are sub-prime.
"If these are just foreign buyers who don't have tax relationship with Australia, that is excessive," LF Economics Lindsay David said.
CEO of Property Investors Alliance, Justin Wang in the PIA auditorium in Olympic Park. Supplied
Mr David said while the US's subprime loans – the cause of the crisis in 2007 – were mainly teaser-rate loans, Australia's subprime loans were in the form of "low-doc interest-only loans" such as Zenik loans.
While Zenik loans suffered few arrears, Mr David said that didn't preclude them from being subprime and a greater ramification is how the supply of sub-prime credit market inflated the housing market.
"If verifying income was not such a big issue, why are banks doing it now, and why is it that house prices are tanking at the same time?" Mr David said.
"This goes to show that there's excess debt pumped into the market."
The Zenik matter was mentioned briefly in one submission to the commission, a set of Commonwealth Bank broker governance minutes, but was not raised in this year's hearings.
Seminars of Chinese buyers. Supplied
Rush of Chinese buyers. Fiona Morris |
|
怎样要求老板涨工资 - 4坑已填 (2009-1-2) 月亮 
征文活动- 琪琪成长之路（更新完毕）！ (2008-5-3) 琪琪 
