Brief: BOQ raises investor loan rates, Cash Converters to defend Queensland class action

Bank of Queensland has raised its variable rate for investor housing loans by 29 basis points. Rates on owner-occupier loans are unchanged. BOQ group executive for retail banking Matt Baxby said in a media release that the bank was also beefing up its risk requirements - strengthening deposit requirements and introducing tighter controls on variations to standard rates for invert loans.
Payday lender Cash Converters responded to the news Maurice Blackburn Lawyers has launched a class action on behalf of Queensland borrowers who claim brokerage fees charged between 2009 and 2013 were unlawful. Cash Converters said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange that it was satisfied that the brokerage fee was not contrary to any Commonwealth or Queensland law. In June, Cash Converters agreed to a settlement with 37,500 borrowers in New South Wales, where it was alleged that it charged unlawful deferred establishment fees.