Responsible Credit

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Expert Recommendations and the Evolution of European Best Practices for the Treatment of Overindebtedness, 1984-2010 Jason J. Kilborn The John Marshall Law School August 21, 2010 Abstract: A series of European experts have weighed in over the past twenty years on the proper way forward for preventing and treating consumer overindebtedness. This paper applies these expert... [more...]

Responsible Credit UK Convention, London, 19th & 20th October 2010 The regulation of the UK’s credit markets is being radically redesigned. Government is currently consulting on its plans to create a new Consumer Protection and Markets Agency and the Financial Services Authority has set out its proposals to create a more responsible lending mortgage market. A longer term... [more...]

EU and economic crisis: quo vadis? - Conference invitation Dear Madam, Dear Sir, Said El Khadraoui (MEP, S&D) and the Institute of European Legal Studies (IEJE) of the University of Liege will hold on 7 October 2010 a half-day conference entitled “Europe and the Economic Crisis: Quo Vadis?”. The purpose of this conference is to offer a platform for debate on the EU’s... [more...]

17.08.10 Review of Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears www.financialregulator.ie/consultation-papers/Documents/CP46%20Review%20of%20Code%20of%20Conduct%20on%20Mortgage%20Arrears/CP46%20Review%20of%20Code%20of%20Conduct%20on%20Mortgage%20Arrears.pdf 09.07.10 Irish Expert Group on Mortgage Arrears and Personal Debt publishes report... [more...]

Number of payday loan users has quadrupled The number of people taking out expensive payday loans has quadrupled over the last four years, a new report by Consumer Focus highlights. Consumer Focus is warning that banks need to offer affordable short-term loans as alternatives, as well as recommending stronger safeguards to protect consumers from spiralling payday loan... [more...]

Risk-Based Pricing Regulations: What Creditors Need To Know www.collectionscreditrisk.com/news/risk-based-pricing-regulations-what-creditors-need-to-know-3002887-1.html Collections & Credit Risk | Wednesday, August 11, 2010 By Paul Thielemann Financial institutions have had no shortage of regulatory changes to manage in recent months. While the CARD Act and the Dodd-Frank... [more...]

Prezado associado e amigo do Brasilcon, Tenho a satisfação de informar o lançamento da cartilha eletrônica "Crédito Responsável", que procura explicar, de modo claro e objetivo, sobre os riscos do superendividamento. O documento, que será encaminhado para todos os PROCONS e entidades civis de defesa do consumidor, pode ser incluído em páginas da internet pelos... [more...]

Both Shelter and the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) are calling for the Government not to reduce the rate at which Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) payments are made. SMI is currently paid to people in receipt of Income Support or Income based Jobseekers Allowance at a rate of 6.08%, but the Budget announced that Government plans to reduce this to a market average... [more...]

The International Monetary Fund has set out further details of its preferred mechanisms to ensure the financial sector makes a ‘fair and substantial contribution’ to cover the likely costs of any future crises and to general tax revenues. In its final report on the issue, which will now go forward for decision by the G-20, the IMF highlights that the as yet unrecovered... [more...]

Monday 12 July 2010: European Commission proposes package to boost consumer confidence in financial services The news: As part of its response to the crisis, the European Commission will adopt a package on 12 July to boost consumer confidence in financial services by improving protection for insurance policy holders, bank account holders and investors in the EU. It will... [more...]

Still in 2010 not only the British government but also the Personal Finance Research Centre, and Project Associates, a consultancy study for Providential with regard to Poland rely their findings on statistics which miraculously increase by number every year and relate to a survey of poor people with still unknown questions, methodology, selection criteria and identity of... [more...]

Joseph Rowntree Foundation reports low income households using credit to meet basic needs ‘Credit and Debt in Low Income Families’, which examines credit use and debt levels amongst low income families, shows that complex debt arrangements and a lack of sustainable employment typically leads to poor debt management and ‘debt traps’. The report finds that debt is more... [more...]

ECRC global partner NCRC has released its comments on the new Financial Regulatory Reform Bill which the Conference Committee has passed today. Below are the press releases. Financial Regulatory Reform Bill Passed by the Conference Committee Washington, DC- Early this morning, 28th June 2010, the Conference Committee passed the Financial Regulatory Reform Bill. John... [more...]

The Declaration We, as European elected officials in charge of regulating financial markets and banks, can see every day the pressure exerted by the financial and banking industry to influence the laws governing it. There is nothing extraordinary if these companies make their point of view known and have discussions on a regular basis with legislators. But it seems to us... [more...]

Cuts without banking reform will endanger economic recovery, say campaigners nef (new economics foundation) and the Better Banking Coalition call on the Chancellor to announce major banking reform and regulation in the Mansion House speech on Wednesday 16 June. Banks are still not lending – not to businesses nor households. This will create further contraction in the... [more...]

European Commission to increase research on consumer policy In the planning of the current EU strategy for consumer policy it was stated that there is insufficient information available on the status of consumer markets and consumer policy in member states. One of the focal areas for the 2007-2013 period was to be development of monitoring mechanisms and research.... [more...]

Press releases 2010 - OFT publishes review of high-cost credit 63/10    15 June 2010 The OFT has today published the final report of its review of the £7.5 billion high-cost credit sector. The sector comprises the pawnbroking, payday loan, home credit and rent-to-buy credit markets. Products supplied in these markets are typically used by people on low incomes who cannot... [more...]

Dear ECRC supporters, ECRC partner, Observatoire de la Finance, is writing concerning its Ethics in Finance-Robin Cosgrove Prize. As you may already know, they have launched the third edition of the global Ethics in Finance-Robin Cosgrove Prize in London on April 20 and the second edition of the regional Etica en las Finanzas - Premio Robin Cosgrove, targeted to... [more...]

Executive Summary The Centre for Responsible Credit (CfRC) and Centre for Economic & Social Inclusion (Inclusion) were jointly commissioned in February 2010 by Manchester City Council, acting on behalf of the wider Manchester City Strategy Partnership, to conduct research into the impact of debt and money issues on job seekers’ ability to find and sustain employment. The... [more...]

BankTrack calls upon banks to Close the Gap on investment policies New report evaluates quality of investment policies of 49 banks; more policies in place, overall quality below what is required Nijmegen, Netherlands, April 27, 2010 BankTrack, the international NGO network monitoring the banking sector, today presents Close the Gap, an extensive research project on the... [more...]

Consultation on the Study on tying and other potentially unfair commercial practices in the retail financial service sector The EU commissioned a study on tying and bundling of financial products which is more known as "linked products". The study has been conducted by CEPS, who largely depends on ECRI, a bank sponsored research entity in Brussels. (See recent ECRC... [more...]

Have Banks gone too far with their 2008 Directive? ECRC has accompanied the battle around the new Consumer Credit Directive 2008/48/EC. There is no question that consumer protection in general lost this battle when the 2002 draft was totally withdrawn and replaced by the neo-liberal information Directive which instead of bread and butter for debtors in consumer credit... [more...]

Failure to regulate debt advice sector astonishing www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/failure-to-regulate-debt-advice-sector-astonishing-2116754.html Personal Finance, Business - Independent.ie By Charlie Weston Tuesday March 30 2010 THE failure of Finance Minister Brian Lenihan and the staff in his department to grasp the necessity to regulate those firms... [more...]

Finforum 2010 ZPS Financial Forum: "Consumers in the Financial Crisis: Lessons Learned and Ways Forward" Thursday, 20th of May 2010, Ljubljana, Slovenia Draft Programme Wednesday, 19 May 18.30 Welcome drinks reception Thursday, 20 May 08.00 Registration opens. Tea and coffee 09.00 to 10.00 Welcome and introductory session 10.00 to 11.10 Plenary I: Financial Crisis... [more...]

news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/lenders-given-reform-choices-20100330-rauu.html Article from the Sydney Morning Herald on regulatory changes in Australia Lenders given reform choices March 30, 2010 AAP The federal government has flagged measures to weed out dodgy lenders before new consumer credit laws come into force. Credit providers will have to be licensed if... [more...]

Greece has introduced a new consumer bankruptcy code modelled after the German insolvency procedure but with a significant shorter good will period of 4 years (6 in Germany). Its outstanding innovation lies in the development of a network of debt advice offices in Greece. In its inauguration conference the Greek socialist ministry of economics had invited a representative... [more...]

Here are the links to the new UK Centre for Responsible Credit's e-briefing for the past weeks. 22.03.10 www.responsible-credit.org.uk/ebrief22032010.html 15.3.10 www.responsible-credit.org.uk/ebrief15032010.html 8.3.10 www.responsible-credit.org.uk/ebrief08032010.html 2.3.10 www.responsible-credit.org.uk/ebrief01032010.html 24.2.10... [more...]

Government sets out next steps on credit card practices and responsible lending Government has set out details of the next steps it will be taking to make lending practice more responsible, including five new 'rights' for credit card borrowers, and more detail of the likely content of the OFT's forthcoming irresponsible lending guidance. The next steps are: Credit card... [more...]

Action, not words needed on Equator Principles BankTrack calls upon Citi, new chair of Equator Principles to take bold steps forward. Nijmegen, Netherlands, March 15 2010 BankTrack, the international NGO network monitoring commercial bank operations, today welcomes the take over by Citi of the chair of the steering committee of the Equator Principles. We congratulate Mr.... [more...]

The lack of benchmarks in assessing the quality of financial services extended by banks is notorious. Banks get their benchmarks from consultancies which often use the ServeQual yardstick where especially consumer feelings and opinions are taken into account. They then advertise very high degrees of content. It is obvious that such evaluations are not more than part of... [more...]

The ministry of economy, competiveness and shipping including a state secretariat on consumer protection organises a conference with the key theme OVER-INDEBTEDNESS OF HOUSEHOLDS: MEASURES AND CHALLENGES MONDAY, MARCH 15, 2010, WORLD CONSUMER RIGHTS DAY PRESS ROOM OF THE GENERAL SECRETARIAT OF COMMUNICATION AND THE GENERAL SECRETARIAT OF INFORMATION (11, Fragoudi Str.,... [more...]

Current Issues in Consumer Law 1/2010 02/03/2010 Latest Current Issue PDF versions The consumer's financial risks and developing new services FROM THE EDITOR In certain sectors the very nature of business entails considerable financial risks to consumers. This has led to special arrangements for consumers' protection. Strong supervision despite meagre resources A report... [more...]

Credit industry urged to improve collections practice AdviceUK, Citizens Advice, the Institute of Money Advisers and the Money Advice Trust have called on creditors to improve debt collection practices and help people make sustainable repayment arrangements. A new report, 'Do the Right Thing' calls on creditors to learn from best practice and: Set the right... [more...]

Government appoints experts to fulfil Programme for Government commitments on debt Ministers Brian Lenihan and Eamon Ryan today (25th February 2010) announced the establishment of a group of experts to work with the Government on our response to the issue of indebtedness. The Independent Chair will be Mr. Hugh Cooney an insolvency accountant with BDO Simpson Xavier. The... [more...]

Joint Committee on Social & Family Affairs (2nd Report on High levels of Indebtedness in Irish Society, February 2010) Report from the Joint Committee on Social and Family Affairs on 'High Levels of Indebtedness in Irish Society' http://www.oireachtas.ie/documents/Committees30thDail/J-SocialFamilyAffairs/Reports_2009/20100216.doc FLAC Press Release... [more...]

The World Consumer Rights Day documented on the Consumers International website since 2003 is an annual occasion for celebration and solidarity within the international consumer movement. It is a time for promoting the basic rights of all consumers, for demanding that those rights are respected and protected, and for protesting the market abuses and social injustices which... [more...]

Yesterday 18th of February 2010, the Financial Market Authority (AFM) issued some reports about the information of pension funds towards their customers. On this page, http://www.afm.nl/marktpartijen/default.ashx?documentid=13254, you find 3 downloadable reports below “zie ook” on the right side. The first one is about old-age pensions, where consumers are allowed/obliged... [more...]

ECRC partner from Slovenia, ZPS, is organising an international conference which plans to bring together the best expertise from the EU and the US and are looking forward to a dynamic and creative event with lively debates on 20 May 2010. The preliminary draft programme is shown below. Speakers have been invited and an update on this major stakeholder event including key... [more...]

PRESS RELEASE: Business, Innovation and Skills, 4 February 2010 Full report - The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills: Helping over-indebted consumers The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’ (BIS’s) free face-to-face advice for people struggling with debt has helped more people than planned, at slightly less than the planned cost per... [more...]

On Monday 15 February the Spring Alliance is organizing a lunch briefing/brainstorming on the EU-2020 Strategy and further work in the framework of the Spring Alliance. It is in the Social Platform, Square de Meeus 18, Brussels, starts 12.30 and ends 14.30. There will be coffee, but please bring your own sandwiches. Please confirm your participation by sending a... [more...]

Partners from Erasmus University School of Law have published the following document in the SSRN's eLibrary. The abstract and full-text document, of: Information Disclosure in the EU Consumer Credit Directive: Opportunities and Limitations can be found here: http://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=1538111 Dear colleagues, Please find enclosed an article written jointly by Prof.... [more...]

e-briefing 18/1/2010 This weekly e-briefing is part of the Centre for Responsible Credit’s subscriptions package. If you have not yet signed up for a subscription then you will stop receiving these briefings on 31st March 2010. Our subscriptions package also includes a bi-monthly e-journal Responsible Credit which provides in-depth analysis of credit, debt and... [more...]

Another „Research“ from the UK to defend its usurious Credit Practices – Stop it. Since a couple of years we observe so-called research in the UK, the EU Member State with the highest usurious credit rates in Europe, the most problematic banking community. The studies are designed to show that UK usury serves the poor. While the simple ideology that less regulation lets... [more...]

2009 International Forum on Legal Aid Taipei Taiwan Panel Discussion III Day 2 [14:00-15:10, 1/11/09] Poverty, Debt and Legal Aid in Japan Saya Oyama (Associate Professor, Kinjo Gakuin University Japan) ________________________________________________________________________________ Preface As an introduction to the issues of “Poverty, Debt, and Legal Aid in Japan”, I... [more...]

http://www.neweconomics.org/fairlending 25/11/2009 Doorstep Robbery Why the UK needs a fair lending law The very poorest people in the UK are paying thousands of pounds to legal loans sharks who charge them over the odds for sommething that most of us can easily access at the bank: credit. This report calls for immediate Government action to curb high-cost predatory... [more...]

The creation of this Centre is good news for research in the UK. Here attached is the Centre’s first briefing for MPs on the UK Financial Services Bill which is now before Parliament in the name of Centre for Responsible Credit. Please read the attachment below “Five Ways to Improve the Financial Services Bill” -------- About the Centre for Responsible Credit Background... [more...]

The French and English cultures differ significantly. While the English and American governments as well as the EU Commission DG Social Policy always stress that exclusion from access to credit is equal to poverty and deprivation, in Belgium, the French speaking community celebrates "days without credit" claiming that the use of credit increases the number of defaults and... [more...]

Here attached is the critical assessment by ECRC partner ULC (Union Luxembourgeoise des Consommateurs) of the Luxemburg bankruptcy law proposal (in French). Despite welcoming the legal initiative allowing for private rehabilitation and a ‘second chance’, l’ULC is not content with : the slow implementation of total debt discharge (which in some cases could involve 20 years... [more...]

Centre for Housing Policy The impact and management of mortgage arrears The recent rapid loss of liquidity in the mortgage market (the credit crunch), the rapid fall in house prices, and the fall in housing market transactions, all have profound implications for both the extent of mortgage arrears and possessions and for their management by lenders and borrowers. Project... [more...]

The EU executive has long consulted expert committees to better address the technicalities inherent in the application of EU legislation, via a practice known as "comitology", however, it is increasingly apparent that these expert committees are no longer comprised of an appropriate mix of government experts from each member state and representatives of civil society,... [more...]

The event, organised by Applica, one of the coordinators of the European Observatory on the Social Situation and Demography (an Observatory that consists of four multi-disciplinary networks of independent experts established for the European Commission in 2005, with the aim to analyse social and demographic trends and to assist the Commission in its duty to report on the... [more...]

From DG SANCO http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/rights/fin_serv_en.htm as of 19.11.09 Consumer Credit Twenty years after the adoption of the first Directive on consumer credit in 1987, a new EU initiative in the area is necessary due to the constant and fast evolution of financial products and to the continued fragmentation of the EU market. There is also evidence that more... [more...]

The two Nobel Prize winners Stiglitz and Sen together with Fitoussi have delivered their "Report by the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress" to the French President Sarkozy, 2009 (www.stiglitz-sen-fitoussi.fr) Professor Joseph E. STIGLITZ, Chair, Columbia University; Professor Amartya SEN, Chair Adviser, Harvard University; Professor... [more...]

From the latest newsletter of the International Association of Consumer Law  November 2009, Vol. 2, issue 2 (www.iaclaw.org) edited by Christine Riefa, Brunel Law School, UK we learn about the efforts made in Australia to harmonise consumer credit law and introduce more effective elements, amove which follows the centralisation of consumer credit law in the US through the... [more...]

Here attached is this year’s Winners List and some details concerning the publication of the best papers. Congratulations to all that participated and well done to the Observatoire de la Finance for helping to organise this prize award. ROBIN COSGROVE PRIZE FOR ETHICS IN FINANCE 2009 The Winners The financial crisis was largely triggered when trust in financial markets... [more...]

31st of October: ecdn calls decision makers to take urgent action The European Consumer Debt Network expects numbers of over-indebted people to grow and sends a letter to European decision makers to call for urgent action. (Press Release) At least 20 million people are over-indebted in the EU. "With the increasing unemployment rates the number of people with debt problems... [more...]

Dear Madam, Dear Sir, This is a reminder for the MuLFI Final Conference. Please find enclosed the invitation for the European Conference on Mutual Learning and Financial Inclusion. This conference will take place in Brussels, on November 05-06, 2009. In order to optimize the organisation of this event, please register following the instructions inside the program. You... [more...]

http://fairrecovery.org/whyfairrecovery/specialissues.html For a comment in German see German page on verantwortliche-kreditvergabe.net or click from sister websites The Consumer Financial Protection Agency – a key to safe and sound access to credit by Gregory D. Squires Of the many factors that have made the United States the world’s premier capital marketplace for 80... [more...]

  Reforming Financial Markets Debt on our Doorstep is pleased to respond to the Treasury’s consultation on the measures now needed to reform financial markets so that they better serve the needs of UK households and businesses in the future. We have four main concerns with the analysis provided in the White Paper. These are: There is an inadequate emphasis on the need... [more...]

Below is the text from the South Australian Payday Lending Bill which was raised a few months ago. There is a similar Bill in the pipeline in Western Australia. Three Australian States and ACT have already imposed payday lender interest rate restrictions, with the above two States having Bills in the pipeline. This reassessment of existing non-regulation has also been... [more...]

"Capping interest rates is not the way to stop irresponsible lending to people who can't afford the loan" microcredit activist Faisal Rahman tells the Guardian. In an Interview to the Guardian Faisal Rahman argues that continental anti-usury legislation is no way to cope with predatory lending. Instead he favours penal sanctions. This kind of interview is in line with... [more...]

At the occasion of the G20 summit in Pittsburgh, the ECRC renews its call for banks ‘worth saving’ (which it issued at the previous London G20 Summit in April 2009) and reminds coalition partners of its critique of the more recent G20 Declaration “12 measures for a socially useful financial system” led by alternative banks. ----- [en français, voir ci-dessous] Global... [more...]

5/2009 Theme: Credit & Money [From the Editor] Essential credit on adequate terms In projects related to changes in essential services, we have repeatedly stated that services required by everyone should be priced fairly. Price determination may not be left to the market when there is sure to be plenty of demand. It is surprising how difficult it has been for some to let... [more...]

ANNUAL FORUM ON EUROPEAN STATE AID LAW 2009 Focus on the economic and financial crisis Trier, 12-13 November 2009 Registrations reaching ERA before 12 October 2009 will be eligible for a 10% discount. The 13th Annual State Aid Forum will provide a unique platform for private and public practitioners to discuss relevant measures adopted to address the financial and economic... [more...]

8th International Meeting on “Ethics, Finance & Responsibility” organised by the Observatoire de la Finance: The crisis: wasted opportunities? 22-23 October 2009, at the Forum Genève (near the train station). Workshops: How banks are trying to woo back their clients Finance and the real economy Financial ethics after the crisis What’s left of our economic models? ... [more...]

G20 Summit on Incentives, Investments and Institutions There has been an extensive discussion among members of the Coalition for Responsible Credit and Community Reinvestment concerning a paper promoted especially by INAISE, the organisation of alternative and ethical banks in Europe for the upcoming G20 summit. A number of Coalition members have already signed this... [more...]

http://consument.afm.nl/consumenten/actueel/nieuws/2009/consultatie.aspx Consultation on new proposals for consumer protection in mortgages The AFM has developed new proposals for the provision of mortgage credit. The AFM considers these necessary to protect consumers against excessive payment risks when financing their homes. Under the proposal, the current income norm... [more...]

Strengthening cooperation between judicial and police authorities in the EU In cooperation with the Swedish EU Presidency Financial crimes are serious and growing threats in all EU Member States. The European Union has given high priority to detecting, investigating and tackling this problem and to bringing offenders to justice. Investigations of financial crimes in the... [more...]

Report from the Responsible Lending Hearing organised by DG Markt in Brussels on Thursday 3 September 2009. ECRC summary The Commission services should be praised for having held such a consultation on such a subject of great interest to the members of our coalition. The ECRC has been organising conferences with the very aim of discussing such issues of responsible credit... [more...]

Strengthening cooperation between judicial and police authorities in the EU The seminar is free of charge (no registration fee). Financial crimes are serious and growing threats in all EU Member States. For the past decades the European Union has given high priority to detecting, investigating and tackling this problem and to bringing offenders to justice. The... [more...]

Public Consultation on Responsible Lending and Borrowing in the EU August 10, 2009 1. Question 3 In your view, are there certain (categories of) credit products that are inherently unsuitable for sale to retail borrowers? In our Subprime Declaration from 30 June 2008 ECRC supported by many signatures from its coalition partners had already pointed to a number of... [more...]

1. EU-Commission on Responsible Lending and Responsible Borrowing EUROPEAN COMMISSION Internal Market and Services DG FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS Retail issues, consumer policy and payment systems Brussels, 15 June 2009 PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON RESPONSIBLE LENDING AND BORROWING IN THE EU (see link at the bottom) "Responsible lending" means that credit products are appropriate... [more...]

The OECD and the European Commission have focused a lot of their efforts in analysing the crisis from the viewpoint of an irresponsible illiterate consumer. The reports are attached below however, there is in our view too little from them critisizing the other side. Where are the reports showing the irresponsible lending practices from the banks, or the education which... [more...]

The Brussels based ECRI which in a strange amalgamation with CEPS and unclear and intransparent dependancy from the banking industry uses its close relations to the EU-Commission to misuse the need for financial education to white wash the banking industry from its failures in the financial crisis. ECRC in its different declarations has insisted that consumer have been... [more...]

PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON RESPONSIBLE LENDING AND BORROWING IN THE EU (see links below) The European Coalition for Responsible Credit has today contributed the following to the European Commission’s consultation on Responsible Lending. We hope that it will help to readjust the Commission services’ appreciation and understanding of the key issue of responsible credit. See... [more...]

CREDIT & SALAKIN TAIKYO, JAPAN National Coalition for Fair Consumer Credit Fighting for ending undue and unjust sufferings of debtors in Japan since 1978 www.cresara.net 6th fl. Nihon Bunka Kaikan, 2-chome 1-23 Kitahama, Chuo-ku, Osaka 541-0041 JAPAN WELCOME to CREST JAPAN CREDIT & SALAKIN TAIKYO JAPAN (CREST JAPAN) is a national coalition for fair consumer... [more...]

Consumer Bankruptcy Regimes in the US and Europe - Further effects and implications of the crisis (CEPS Working Document No. 318/July 2009 by Maria Gerhardt) ABSTRACT Consumer insolvency is a topic that has gained much prominence in the context of the financial crisis on both sides of the Atlantic. In countries such as the US and the UK, the number of bankruptcy filings... [more...]

We would like to inform you that the BIS (Department for Business, Innovation and Skills – part of the former DTI) has published the provisions for draft regulations implementing the Consumer Credit Directive on its websites. Please follow the below link for more information. For those of you that are able to comment on these draft regulations, you can do so until the... [more...]

Press release from DOOD blog website BARNARDO'S SLAMS PROVIDENT RATES OF 545% Wednesday, 29 July 2009 at 14:04 Barnardo's 'Breadline Britain' report, published yesterday, rightly slams Provident's 545% APR loans to some of Britain's poorest families as 'extortionate'. The report comes on the same day that Provident announced a rise in pre-tax profits in the first six... [more...]

The European Coalition for Responsible Credit has been promoting events and sharing research and suggestions for more sustainable financial services and fair finance for a number of years. Conversations at seminars and exchange of views at our national and international stakeholder conferences help those interested in developing forms of best practice. Our 7 Principles of... [more...]

ECRC Newsletter 2009 H1 – July 2009 Dear friends and colleagues, Our coalition has not produced a Newsletter in a while but our members have been busy trying to explain, understand and help to limit the harm which this credit crisis has instigated. ECRC conferences, joint declarations and mutual help in promoting sustainable approaches have kept us busy. We think the... [more...]

A recent study by economists at the University of Chicago examined the effects of payday lenders being required to better explain the long-term financial cost of their loans. However, although providing a clear and tangible description of a loan's cost reduced the number of applicants choosing to take payday loans, this only applied to 10 percent of borrowers. This means... [more...]

The discount order form for this book is on the second page of the flyer attached below. CONSUMER CREDIT, DEBT AND BANKRUPTCY - COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES Edited by Johanna Niemi, Iain Ramsay and William C Whitford After a long period of prosperity and steady economic growth, the world's leading economies are now in crisis, and although there will be... [more...]

NEWS FROM THE STATES: The current global financial meltdown began with the collapse of the U.S. Subprime Mortgage Market, which continues to wreak havoc throughout that nation and the world. What really happened, and what is being done in response – by lawmakers and the Obama Administration, by bank regulators, and by civic leaders and hard-hit communities? More... [more...]

President Buzek is the first President of the European Parliament to come from Central and Eastern Europe following the EU's enlargement in 2004. Jerzy Buzek (EPP, Poland) replaces the outgoing President Hans-Gert Pöttering (EPP, Germany). Mr Buzek will give a more detailed description of the work programme he intends to pursue over the next two and a half years during the... [more...]

As part of the Coalition's work monitoring the implementation of the CCD in the EU Member States, our partner from Malta gives us an update. (contribution from Paul Micallef) To date no indication has been given as to how the Government of Malta intends to implement the Consumer Credit Directive. The previous consumer credit directive was implemented in July 2005 with... [more...]

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN IRELAND Introduction Despite sustained economic growth and a consumer credit boom over fifteen odd years, successive Irish governments have failed to update and modernise the debt enforcement infrastructure in line with the more progressive systems in operation across most of the European Union. The focus instead has been to gradually increase the... [more...]

ULC, the Luxembourg Consumer Union, considers financial services, especially consumer credit, as a major policy issue for the forthcoming new Luxembourg government following national elections on the same day as the EP elections. Please see enclosed our requests to the "formateur" outgoing (incoming) prime minister J-Cl. Junker. (the enclosed draft was sent more or less... [more...]

(open til end August) See Altroconsumo's comments. Please send us yours so that we can include them in our ECRC repsonse over the coming weeks. See links below. [more...]

IN DEBT - DEALING WITH YOUR CREDITORS On 2nd July 2009 the Insolvency Service launches its new guide to debtors and debt advisors, entitled ‘In Debt? Dealing with your creditors.’ The guide contains an overview of the main debt solutions, not just those administered by the Insolvency Service, and addresses what we believe to be a gap in the literature currently available... [more...]

Free Legal Advice Centres (FLAC) has launched its report on debt enforcement. FLAC Senior Policy Researcher Paul Joyce has been one of the founding members of the ECRC and committed supporter of promoting responsible credit. FLAC unveiled its latest report on 6 July, calling for radical overhaul of Ireland's Dickensian laws on debt enforcement. The report, launched by... [more...]

The OFT has shown leadership by realising the serious problem of extortionate credit provision in the UK. Following its informal consultation, it has now decided that to avoid duplication with other initiatives in the UK, it is best to narrow the scope of the review to high cost credit. This will refine their focus to an area where they consider consumers are most... [more...]

On 2nd July the Government published a consumer White Paper “A Better Deal for Consumers: Delivering Real Help Now and Change for the Future”. A Better Deal for Consumers sets out the real help we are providing now to people in financial difficulties, and the longer term measures we are planning to bolster confidence. The help we are providing for consumers now aims to... [more...]

The ECRC and its partners have developed basic rules or principles in several related areas. Below are some principles from other sources etc... [more...]

Are these a new European equivalent to payday loans? Is this a Finnish phenomenon or do we know about similar loans in other countries? In Finland the Parliament is (hopefully) going to accept a law to prevent SMS loans to be paid out at night time. But no interest ceiling so that the interest can be even over 1000 % p.a. Read the abstract and article below THE USE OF... [more...]

This summer, ECRC partners will need to get together and formulate their response to the work the Commission has done in the area of responsible lending and borrowing. We hope for a strong participation in the drafting of our response from our partners. Please contact the ECRC secretariat at ecrc@iff-hamburg.de if you already want to show that you desire to give input to... [more...]

The OECD and the Institut pour l'Education Financière du Public (IEFP) co-organised a symposium on the role of financial education in the context of the financial crisis (20 May 2009). The symposium gathered high-level officials and decision-makers from around the world to discuss and elevate the international policy dialogue on the importance of financial education at a... [more...]

Less than half of the European Citizens have felt it necessary to vote. The new Parliament will if Eurosceptics from the UK, Bavaria, Austria and other states within the conservative parites are also counted, have an enormous amount of members which do not want a better Europe but no Europe at all.  To those who want a socially responsible Europe where different cultures... [more...]

With its audiovisual-partners: www.quepo.org, ADICAE has successfully brought attention to the problem of debt through its film “In debt”. For those that want to understand how Spain became reliant on real estate and increasing indebtedness please click on the following link (label for an english version of the whole page). CAUGHT IN THE SPIDER'S WEB OF DEBT You can... [more...]

Below are extracts of, and links to the documents which ECRC have submitted to the UK Government for their transposition efforts. Other stakeholders may be interested in using these documents for their national discussions. IMPLEMENTING THE CONSUMER CREDIT DIRECTIVE - RESPONSE TO CONSULTATION INTRODUCTION This response is submitted on behalf of the European Coalition... [more...]