Hardship Policy

A professionally drafted Hardship Policy for banks, deposit-taking institutions and finance companies, covering credit risk appetite, origination and portfolio management. Global edition — written to international standards (Basel Committee, FATF, ISO, COSO, NIST and FSB) and deliberately jurisdiction-neutral, with bracketed prompts marking the points where your local law or regulator's requirements must be inserted. Supplied as a fully editable Microsoft Word document, de-identified and ready to adapt to your organisation. Typical owner: Chief Risk Officer; approval: Board of Directors.

Typical owner	Chief Risk Officer
Typical approval	Board of Directors
Length	~8,602 words (approx. 22 pages)
Last reviewed	July 2026 — verify currency for your circumstances before use
Format	Microsoft Word (.docx), fully editable
Delivery	Instant download after purchase; re-download any time from your account
Licence	Single-organisation licence
Guarantee	Materially defective or misdescribed? We'll resupply, replace or refund within 30 days — see Terms

Preview the first 6 pages (PDF) See the real cover, document control page and opening sections before you buy.

What's inside

• Contents
• 1. Purpose
• 2. Scope
• 3. Definitions
• 4. Regulatory Framework
• 5. Policy Statement and Principles
• 6. Recognising Hardship Notices and Proactive Identification
• 7. Acknowledgment, Information Requests and Decision Timeframes
• 8. Assessing Hardship Requests
• 9. Forbearance Options
• 10. Vulnerable Customers and Family and Domestic Violence
• 11. Credit Bureau Reporting, Collections and Enforcement
• 12. Prudential Classification, IFRS 9 Staging and Provisioning
• 13. End-of-Arrangement Reviews
• 14. Declined Assistance and Dispute Resolution
• 15. Business and Commercial Lending and Guarantors
• 16. Roles and Responsibilities
• 17. Monitoring, Quality Assurance and Reporting
• 18. Breaches of this Policy
• 19. Training and Awareness
• 20. Review of this Policy
• Appendix A: Proactive Hardship Indicators
• Appendix B: Hardship File Minimum Record Checklist
• Policy Administration

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