Credit card issuers are calling on ASIC to delay the introduction of new responsible lending standards in January, claiming they need at least six months to ensure their loan assessment systems comply with the reforms.ASIC yesterday announced that it would require all credit card issuers to assess an applicant's capacity to repay a credit limit on their card product over a prescribed three-year period.Under current industry practices some credit card lenders only measure a cardholder's ability to meet minimum monthly instalments before approving applications.But under the new standard, issuers that judge a credit card applicant unlikely to repay the proposed credit limit within three years would have to classify the product as unsuitable for the prospective client.Banks and other card issuers will be expected to comply with the new assessment requirement that will apply to all classes of credit cards from January 1 next year.However, ANZ says it will be scrambling to update its lending platforms and technology by the start date and wants to be given six months to prepare for the change."We are concerned about a 1 January 2019 date for compliance," ANZ told ASIC in a written submission last month."Final requirements are not yet confirmed so the changes are not yet able to be specified."In addition, ANZ does not generally undertake technology system changes over the Christmas-New Year period due to risks and the difficulty of coordinating development and testing at that time."The Australian Banking Association said its 24 member banks would need more time to overhaul internal credit policies, credit products and IT systems to implement the reform program."We strongly submit that ASIC's proposed compliance date of 1 January 2019 does not provide a realistic transition period for industry given the short timeframe facing the industry following the release of a final instrument," the ABA told ASIC on 7 August.In its submission the ABA highlighted the case of a de-identified regional bank that would need to complete "major changes" to six IT systems in December to meet the deadline."This insufficient timeframe imposes a significantly higher level of risk for the bank and its customers, as well as imposing a higher level of cost on implementation," the association said in its submission.For the most part, ASIC is adhering to its implementation schedule, noting that the enacting federal legislation was given royal assent in March."The consumer protections that the reform provides are highly important and we consider that an extension of the implementation date would be inconsistent with the intention of Parliament," the regulator told credit card issuers in its written response to industry submissions."We also note that the reform received Royal Assent in March 2018, meaning that credit providers have had some time to prepare for system changes."ASIC has only yielded to one industry concern by deferring the compliance deadline for how the assessment standards on credit cards would impact assessments made other types of loans, such as mortgages.Banks and other lenders have been given until July next year to ensure that loan assessments conducted on mortgage