Ann: Royal Commission Final Report, page-5

I won't make any friends with this post, and I do agree that the bank handled this situation with no compassion whatsoever. The grieving widow should have been dealt with personally and all options discussed and considered. They didn't do that, so the bank stands condemned.

However, I want to point out that the widow probably would not have been in a financial position to takeover the mortgage and its payments. From memory of what I saw on TV, the husband bought their home in his name alone for $550,000 and died in an accident about a year later. Over the followinng 18 months, $30,000 of unpaid mortgage payments accrued, partly due to his having no will and the consequent delay in settling his estate.

The bank sold the house for $480,000 which left them to collect $30,000 shortfall from the mortgage insurance. Considering the downturn in property prices, the price obtained would not seem all that bad, especially if it was in WA.

The widow (on TV) was aggrieved that the bank would not let her buy the house even though her (or his) parents offered to go guarantors.

From the bank's point of view, the widow was a mother with one or two children and not working (I think). Her ability to repay $480,000 would be extremely doubtful. Lending that amount to a person without the proven means to pay is something the banks were criticised for at the inquiry. As to the parents offering to go guarantors, I think, considering the situation, that the probability is that the widow would fall behind in the mortgage payments and the bank would seek payment from the parents, who may then find they have to sell their own home.

With these factors in mind, I do not see how any bank could have responsibly transferred the mortgage to the widow.

Yes, the widow did want to keep the house, their home, for sentimental reasons, to be the place their children could grow up, but financially I do not see it as ever being possible unless the young mother could get an extremely well paid job.

Hate me if you like, hate the bank for their callous, indifferent treatment of the lady, but what the lady wanted was far from achievable.

Cantankerous James