ASIC defeated in landmark responsible lending case against Westpac. ASIC commissioner Sean Hughes says regulator "takes it on the chin".

The Federal Court has dismissed ASIC's responsible lending case against Westpac and ordered the regulator to pay the bank's costs. 

ASIC had alleged that Westpac breached responsible lending laws on up to 262,000 home loan approvals made using an automated process that relied on the Household Expenditure Measure benchmark, rather than using each applicant's individually assessed living cost. 

ASIC commissioner Sean Hughes tells ABC's Peter Ryan the regulator takes the defeat on the chin but will continue to fearlessly pursue breaches of corporate law.

Source: Justice Nye Perram - ASIC vs Westpac ruling 13 August 19