Lawyer Scott Russell says proposed changes to our lending laws only benefit Aussie banks. 

The bill, currently before Select Committee, aims to lessen red tape for such things as adjusting credit limits and applying for credit cards. 

Russell's representing 170,000 Kiwis in a class action against ANZ and ASB, and says the changes protect those banks. 

He says they argue penalties under the law are a risk to the economy. 

"That's just simply rubbish, there's no evidence of that and it seems the suspicion is, by many, that the law is just National helping out the Australian banks."

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