Married in COP but no spousal consent required?

HOW IS it that finance institutions such as Wesbank grant finance without obtaining spousal consent where the marriage is in community of property? Surely the overall effect binds the joint estate?

I would like to cancel a transaction due to the fact that my consent was not obtained and I am unable to get clarification from WesBank regarding this. Isn’t the transaction void based on the above? Alisha WesBank responds: WesBank does obtain marital consent from customers who apply for finance, submitted in the form of a declaration that they have obtained the required consent from their spouse.

As the credit provider, WesBank informs customers of their legal responsibility, in terms of the Matri- monial Property Act and the National Credit Act.

Additionally, WesBank will acquire the appropriate confirmation that a customer has obtained the necessary consent where applicable.

The bank is not required to confirm that the customer has in fact obtained marital consent – the onus is on the customer to ensure that their spouse has given consent.

The bank is also not required to verify this. Customers who falsify this information would be committing fraud and the bank would be able to take measures accordingly.

Should a customer indicate that they have not obtained the relevant consent, where applicable, the bank would not proceed with the agreement until consent has been obtained and declaration has been signed.