Lenders may benefit from a simplified pre-contractual disclosure regime, if Treasury proposals are adopted, but they will have to meet stricter requirements for the more timely issue of disclosure documents.Treasury is considering changes to disclosure documents required under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act and it issued a consultation paper to this effect on Monday.The proposed changes are based on research by the Standing Committee of Officials on Consumer Affairs, which commissioned a consultant, UniQuest, to look at current pre-contractual disclosure and make recommendations that would improve consumer understanding.Under current rules, a pre-contractual summary of the credit contract, called a financial table, must be given to borrowers before they enter into a contract.At the moment, the financial table includes disclosure of the frequency of statement of account, information about any default rate of interest, details of credit-related insurance contracts, information in relation to commissions, a statement as to when enforcement expenses become payable, and information about any mortgage or guarantee provided with the credit contract.A partner at Gadens Lawyers, Jon Denovan, said these summary tables can run for pages and pages in mortgages contracts, and are not of much use to borrowers.UniQuest's main recommendation is that the financial table be replaced with a simplified financial summary table that focuses on key pricing information. This would include the loan amount, estimated total cost of credit, estimated total amount to be repaid, the interest rate, monthly payments, a personalised comparison rate, and known fees and charges.UniQuest has recommended product specific pre-contractual disclosure for home loans, credit cards, car loans and store cards.Subsequent to UniQuest's work, Treasury has proposed that product-specific disclosures would also cover reverse mortgages, small-amount credit contracts, consumer leases and personal loans.The consultation paper also includes a draft information statement in respect of lenders' mortgage insurance.Uniquest's research found that, in practice, borrowers are usually provided with the pre-contractual summary at the same time as they enter into the contract. The consultation paper includes a couple of options for making sure borrowers receive their summaries "within a reasonable time" before entering into the contract.Lenders are also currently required to provide an information statement of the debtor's statutory rights and obligations. Treasury's view is that much of the same information is included in credit guides provided to borrowers.It has proposed that the requirement to provide this information statement be repealed. It may require that more information be included in the credit guide.Treasury has called for submissions on the consultation paper by May 13.