Loans for buying cryptocurrency are today banned by one of the nation’s biggest mutual banks and affiliates amid concerns the highly speculative and volatile billion-dollar market is not in its members “best interests”.
Teachers Mutual Bank, UniBank and Firefighters’ Mutual Bank on Monday announced that they will “not lend when the purpose involves cryptocurrency”, the toughest measure to be taken by an Australian lender in the high profile sector.
Other lenders, both locally and overseas, have imposed bans on the use of credit cards to buy cryptocurrencies, limited the use of credit cards or refused to use income from cryptocurrenices as security for a loan.
Steve James, Teachers Mutual chief executive, said its ban was “a proactive, responsible lending measure” rather than responding to a surge in borrowing applications from cryptocurrency investors.
Aryan Nava 