Our investigation

We found the bank did not have to consult Danny or assess whether full contractual repayments were affordable before requiring him to resume his regular commitments. The bank was also not required to wait until the company returned to full profitability before taking such a step. In addition, banks are under no general obligation to ensure contractual repayments are affordable when a hardship arrangement ends. We did, however, look at whether the bank met its hardship obligations and it had indeed done so. It approved four separate interest-only periods on two loans, restructured lending and increased credit limits on other business loans, and then provided a fifth interest-only period to give Danny time to secure an unconditional contract on the sale of another business, the proceeds from which were put towards reducing his debts.

Outcome

We did not uphold Danny’s complaint.