Unfair Contract Terms - Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Statement

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank (BEN) confirms the Federal Court has made declarations and orders in the form sought jointly by the Bank and ASIC.    

The proceedings concerned standard form terms for small business loan contracts with Rural Bank and Delphi Bank between November 2016 and June 2019. The Bank and ASIC jointly submitted that certain clauses in those contracts could operate in an unfair manner and should be declared void or amended by order of the Court.

Importantly, the Court acknowledged that ASIC did not allege the Bank had relied upon any of these clauses in a manner that was unfair, or that had caused any customers to suffer loss or damage.   The Bank also gave an undertaking to ASIC in June 2018 and will give an undertaking to the Court, not to use or rely upon any of the terms in question.

We remain committed to keeping our customers at the centre of everything we do and ensuring we satisfy all regulatory requirements and guidelines.