ASIC permanently bans former finance analyst

She was convicted and sentenced on 22 May this year with nine charges of submitting false or misleading information in support of loan applications, and was required to enter into a recognisance in the sum of $2,000 to be of good behavior for a period of 12 months.

Ms Vu admitted to supplying the false information to Esanda (a division of ANZ) by means of changing her clients’ residential address postcodes from regional postcode to postcodes within the suburban centres of Darwin, Alice Springs or Katherine. The postcode discrepancies saw loans approved for applicants that lived hundreds of kilometres away from where they had claimed to reside.

The loans, valuing $238,069, were approved and disbursed, but ASIC noted that “the false information resulted in loans being approved that the lender would otherwise have rejected or referred for further assessment.”

ASIC deputy chair Peter Kell said in May: “Documentation provided by third parties in support of loan applications must reflect the consumer's true personal and financial circumstances so that lenders can accurately assess their ability to repay a loan.

“Any actions taken by brokers or intermediaries to deliberately undermine this process is a criminal offence and ASIC will ensure offenders are brought before the Courts.”

He added today: “Dishonest conduct exposes consumers and credit providers to financial risk. ASIC will not hesitate to take banning action to remove those engaging in misleading conduct from the industry.”

Ms Vu has the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of the decision.

[Related: Two more car finance players brought to justice]