Salaried individuals no longer need to supply bank statements when applying for bonds at FNB, Absa and Nedbank, as these banks can now obtain applicants’ bank statements via secure electronic enablement from participating Document Exchange Association (DEA) banks.

Bond applicants will be required to sign consent forms authorising their banks to release the information. If they aren’t willing to give the necessary consent they will be required to supply bank statements to accompany the application, as before, says bond originator Kevin Harvey of Prime Properties Finance.

Harvey believes that this change will herald a number of benefits, and in particular a significant reduction in the fraud risks associated with paper submissions. Additional benefits, according to Harvey, include a reduction in costs associated with obtaining and submitting paper documents; improved protection of the client’s confidential information; enhanced service levels and faster turnaround times on bond applications.

“This is welcome news for the property industry, because it’s likely to have a positive effect on buyer sentiment,” says Mike Greeff, chief executive of Greeff Properties, an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estates.

“Handing over private information such as bank statements can be terrifying in the light of regular headlines reporting widespread fraud, so there are people who are put off applying for finance because they’d rather not hand over physical evidence of their income. Psychologically, an internal secure network is very likely to inspire more confidence in potential buyers, so more bond applications, coupled with improving leniency on behalf of the banks to grant finance, should herald a marked increase in offers to purchase and subsequent property sales,” says Greeff.