The corporate watchdog has joined the banking regulator in cracking down on interest-only home loans, announcing targeted surveillance of lenders and mortgage brokers inappropriately spruiking the loans.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) also said eight lenders, including Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and ANZ, will be forced to provide remediation, including possible refunds, to consumers who suffered financial difficulty as a result of shortcomings in past lending practices.

ASIC said it would shortly start surveillance in the interest-only lending sector to identify lenders and mortgage brokers who are recommending high numbers of more expensive interest-only loans.

It said data would be gathered using ASIC's compulsory information-gathering powers.