Not upheld: irresponsible lending complaint against Lloyds Bank PLC trading as MBNA

Decision detail

Summary

Miss G complained that MBNA irresponsibly lent her £19,000 in a personal loan approved in February 2023 for debt consolidation. She argued the lender should have conducted more thorough checks, particularly bank statements, given her level of existing debt and lack of financial buffer. The ombudsman found that MBNA's proportionate checks, including CRA data and affordability modelling, were sufficient and showed Miss G had approximately £1,014 monthly disposable income after accounting for all commitments. With a clean credit history and no adverse indicators, further checks were not proportionate. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that MBNA's proportionate checks were adequate for this type of credit. The affordability assessment showed sufficient disposable income (£1,014 per month) after accounting for income, existing credit commitments, modelled living costs, and other commitments. The clean credit history with no adverse indicators meant further checks such as bank statements were not proportionate. The debt consolidation purpose also supported the expectation that existing credit commitments would reduce. No evidence suggested Miss G could not sustainably afford the repayments over the full 48-month term.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website