The worst banks and lenders revealed in new hardship report
Financial Counselling Australia’s Rate the Banks report, based on a survey of 201 financial counsellors, rates lenders’ hardship support on a 0-to-10 scale. Big four banks averaged 7.0, while smaller banks averaged 5.6 and non-bank lenders averaged 4.4. Prospa scored 2.5, and PRA Australia 4.6. Credit Corp led debt collectors at 7.6.
How this was made
The 30-second read
Why it matters
The report differentiates performance across big four banks, smaller banks, non-bank lenders, and debt collectors, with the weakest scores concentrated in parts of the non-bank and collections ecosystem.
Market read
Traders may use the report as a conduct-risk scoreboard for Australian lenders, but it lacks direct enforcement or financial disclosures that typically drive immediate repricing.
What to watch
If regulators or industry bodies use the report to trigger audits, remediation, or enforcement, the conduct-risk signal could become tradable; the article does not confirm any such follow-through.
Background
Financial Counselling Australia’s Rate the Banks report assesses how lenders handle customers in financial difficulty using FCA’s 10 Principles of Good Hardship Practice.
Ticker impact
Debt collector PRA Australia is reported as having a particularly poor showing, with 35% of counsellors rating its practices as “poor.”
Low to moderate sentiment impact if market treats the rating as a proxy for regulatory risk.
No enforcement action or financial impact is disclosed. The rating is survey-based, so translation to earnings is not explicit.
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank is listed among the highest-rated smaller banks in the report’s hardship-practice rankings.
Low near-term impact; could matter if investors price conduct risk more aggressively.
The piece is a survey report without new financial disclosures or enforcement outcomes.
Angle Finance is listed among the lowest-rated non-bank lenders in the report’s hardship-practice rankings.
Low to moderate negative sentiment potential, absent enforcement details.
No new penalties, remediation, or earnings impact are disclosed.
Market effects
Conduct and hardship-handling scrutiny is highlighted across banks, non-bank lenders, and debt collectors, which can feed into regulatory and reputational risk premia.
Australia-focused consumer credit and collections practices could influence local investor sentiment toward lenders with weaker hardship outcomes.
Limited direct global impact, but it reinforces a broader international trend of regulators and investors paying attention to consumer-protection metrics.
Counterpoint
Because the article is based on counsellor surveys and not on regulator enforcement, the market may discount it as non-actionable for near-term earnings.
Key entities
- NGO/industry bodyFinancial Counselling Australia (FCA)
Published the Rate the Banks hardship report based on a national survey of financial counsellors.
- research organizationConsumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC)
Partnered in preparing the report.
- non-bank lenderProspa
Received the lowest non-bank lender rating at 2.5 out of 10 in the report.
- debt collectorCredit Corp
Received a comparatively strong debt-collector rating, with 76% of counsellors rating practices as “good”.
