519-646-2222THIS WEEK’S IRRESPONSIBLE LENDER IS?
Guess the name of the irresponsible lender of the week given the following facts and clues.
The lender is a Canadian chartered bank lending through a credit card “product”.
The debtor is nearly 79 years of age and on a small fixed income consisting almost entirely of government pensions.
In addition to providing lending facilities the bank has the debtor’s primary banking account and is fully aware of the debtor’s financial situation including income and expenses, credit bureau report, age and possibly health status.
So how responsible is it, given the above information, that the bank allow the debtor to run up nearly $20,000.00 on a single credit card with terms that facilitate repayment over a period of 152 years?
I was thinking about approaching the bank to see if they would give me a mortgage over a similar period of time. I was looking at a really nice house that I might be able to afford if they would only stretch the repayment term over 150 years for me instead of the usual 25.
Imagine for a moment the government legislating this type of wild west lending in a similar fashion to the manner in which mortgage lending has been regulated. Let’s say that the debtor would be required to have the financial means to repay the full amount of their credit card debts (based on an actuarial formula) over a term not to exceed five years.
Wait a minute though, I may be talking myself out of a job…