A preliminary assessment must be completed within 90 days of providing credit assistance to your client. The purpose of the preliminary assessment is to determine that the credit contract in 'not unsuitable' by completing the following 3 steps:
Make reasonable enquiries about the consumer's requirements and objectives
Make reasonable enquiries about the consumer's financial situation
Take steps to verify the information provided to you
The preliminary assessment must be completed in full with information auto-populated from Mercury Nexus this includes:
client's name
address
income
living expenses
credit commitments
funding position (calculations tab)
Product comparison (calculations tab) Please note at least three lender/products need to be compared for the basis of your recommendation.
Needs Analysis Responses (It will use the oldest Needs Analysis in the questionnaires tab if there are more than one.)
Note: You are not required to provide the preliminary assessment to the client however this must be kept on file for 7 years from the time of providing the credit assistance to the consumer.
If a consumer requests a copy of their preliminary assessment you must provide this to them within the below timeframes:
7 business days if the request is within 2 years of providing credit assistance
21 business days if the request is 2 - 7 years after providing credit assistance
The preliminary assessment can be generated from the compliance wizard box in Mercury Nexus (number 3 in the box).
Remember this does not have to be provided to your clients but does need to be completed in full and stored in Mercury Nexus.
If you have any questions relating to this topic contact [email protected]