What is banking law?

Banking law is the set of rules and regulations surrounding the operation of the banking system in Australia. There is an enormous range of laws which can impact on banking law some of the major transactions which people deal with are mortgages and credit. In Australia, some of the key pieces of legislation which govern the rights of people in relation to banking and finanace are the Consumer Credit Code which was origninally drafted in Queensland but has now been adopted in many states around Australia including New South Wales and Victoria.  This legislation means that there are certain controls which prevent the credit from being taken by a person when the lender has not verified that they have the ability to pay for the credit.  This legislation can apply to mortgages or credit cards or any other form of credit which falls within the meaning of the act.  There are also some little known aspects of common law which apply to the giving of credit such as the law of unconscionability in contract which is where there is a great disparity between the bargaining power of two parties such as a Bank and a consumer and a consumer signs a mortgage contract not really knowing what it is.  In this case, there are pieces of case law like the National Australia Bank v Amadio which say that a consumer will not be bound by the terms of a contract like this where there was a special disadvantage of the consumer such as the inability to speak english.  It is cases like this where Banking law can become incredibly important because it may mean that a loan does or does not need to be paid back.  This is extremely important both from the point of view of the lender or the borrower.  There are other pieces of legislation regarding the banking law like the Cheques Act (Cth) and the Banking and Finance Regulations which govern the administrative aspects of the financial system. 

What changes in banking and finance law are likely to occur in the near future?

It is also very likely that the banking and financial system is going to be seriously impacted by regulatory changes which come about as a result of the global financial crisis and the tightening of credit systems and the system of financial regulation in general.  If you have a query about banking and finance law, we are more than happy to assist and have lawyers online available now to help you.  You can also post your query in the contact form to the right.