A third of home lenders don't check if borrowers owe money to others, Asic hearing told

Landmark public hearing into responsible lending hears criticism of court ruling that threw out Westpac lawsuit

About a third of lenders aren't checking to see whether potential borrowers already owe money to other financial institutions, one of Australia's biggest mortgage broker groups has told a hearing.

"We have about one third of our lender panel who do not require verification of commitments outside their institution," said the chief executive of Mortgage Choice, Susan Mitchell.