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DEALERS are finding that promising sales are falling through because the buyers are employed by companies that have them on JobKeeper and the finance is being refused on the basis of heightened risk.

GoAutoNews Premium has been told that financing has been rejected because the JobKeeper payments have to go on their payslip.

Someone familiar with the issue said: “The banks, which are looking over their shoulders under their responsible lending requirements, are rejecting the loan applications.

“They are saying: ‘They are on JobKeeper, we are unsure if they will have a job after September when the JobKeeper runs out so will they be able to maintain this loan?’

“So the banks are taking the position of saying, ‘No’. So the JobKeeper has some unintended consequences that we would never have dreamed of. That is a massive concern.”

A finance company insider said that the approach of the banks was understandable.

“I think if you are stood down and you are on JobKeeper in an industry that the banks would call a vulnerable industry – hospitality, tourism, aviation – there would be a good chance of that (the loan being rejected).

“It is a really tough one. We are trying to take a more pragmatic approach but you really need to look at these people; they have been stood down, they are on JobKeeper and yet they are buying another car.

“You certainly would want to talk to the customer and ask what their rationale is for buying a car under these circumstances.

“If they were in an industry like construction which is likely to bounce back pretty fast you might take a risk on them.

“But the last thing you want is for a loan to go through today and then within days the buyer is on the phone to the financier asking for hardship.

“We have our obligations under the responsible lending rules so it is a tough one although they really only have to wait six months to get their car if they are on JobKeeper.

“And if they were reinstated in June while their company was still getting a JobKeeper payment on their behalf, but they are back on a salary, then that would be fine. But it is a fraught area.”

By John Mellor

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