>On an anecdotal level I've also heard more than a few people say they it was hinted by banks that they could put a bigger number in the 'income' box and borrow

>On an anecdotal level I've also heard more than a few people say they it was hinted by banks that they could put a bigger number in the 'income' box and borrow more money. There is at least one survey showing that liar loans are common in Australia: https://www.domain.com.au/news/australian-housing-market-built-on-500-billion-of-liar-loans-ubs-20170911-gyf32l/ https://www.domain.com.au/news/australian-housing-market-bui... About 500bn mortgages are based on inaccurate/false information, 1,100bn are 'correct'. Note that these numbers are estimates because they are based on surveys, Australia's banking system does not need to check this. Liar loans were a big factor in the US' started financial crisis: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/13/upshot/how-mortgage-fraud-made-the-financial-crisis-worse.html?_r=0 https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/13/upshot/how-mortgage-fraud...