Responsible Credit

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It is increasingly obvious that the distinction between money credit and other forms of credit in which foreign capital is used is artificial and prevents to focus on common issues in the protection of the users of such capital. In housing the English and American subprime crisis has made it ever more obvious that the so-called home-owners are factually tenants of the... [more...]

The European Commission (DG MARKT) holds a conference on the new EU financial supervision and its architecture. The website however does not identify consumers or the users of the financial services as stakeholders for whom the event has been organised. The ESA Regulation have endowed authorities with a consumer protection mandate so it is surprising that these entities... [more...]

In July 2012 the European Commission requested the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) to provide technical advice on the prudential regulations and consumer protection measures needed to create a single market for personal pensions (see pages 21-30 for consumer protection parts). In order to deliver this technical advice EIOPA, as a first step,... [more...]

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authorities (EIOPA) launches the Call for Expression of Interest regarding the setting up of EIOPA Stakeholder Groups, the Insurance and Reinsurance Stakeholder Group (IRSG) and the Occupational Pensions Stakeholder Group (OPSG), following the expiration of their mandates later this year. The Stakeholder Groups... [more...]

The Report and two posts by Jason Kilborn on the Credit Slips blog are featured below. Report on the Treatment of the Insolvency of Natural Persons (2013, the World Bank: Insolvency and Creditor/Debtor Regimes Task Force: Working Group on the Treatment of the Insolvency of Natural Persons; Committee Chair: Jason J. Kilborn; Members: Charles D. Booth, Johanna Niemi, Iain... [more...]

This Focus Note, from the author from South Africa who has been involved in discussions with the ECRC over past years, aims to offer practical guidance to regulators and policy makers who face challenges of private credit growth. It argues that it is preferable to implement appropriate monitoring mechanisms and regulatory interventions at an early stage in credit market... [more...]

The EC has announced its Proposal for a Directive on Payment Accounts today.  This is the first legislative measure dedicated directly at consumers (rather than indirectly by regulating other parts of banking and the financial system). In a national protectionist environment, this Directive aims to also promote the EU internal single banking market (across borders). The... [more...]

More than 170 participants from 10 countries have already registered to attend the conference – There is a keen interest in the issues of the international conference on 6 and 7 June 2013 with the overarching theme of "Are we on the Road to Needs-Orientated Products?" Numerous representatives of consumer organizations, the vzbv, debt counselling agencies and... [more...]

Making Advice Work (MAW) Scottish Legal Aid Board Grant Funding Programme 2013 – 2015 The Scottish Legal Aid Board has been asked by the Scottish Government and the Money Advice Service to run a new grant funding programme. The programme will focus on improving access to advice for people in Scotland with a view to promoting achievement of particular priority... [more...]

Changes of consumer credit law and transposition of the directive nr 2011/90/UE, of November the 14th On 1st of July 2013 it will come into force the latest amendments to the consumer credit regime approved by decree-law nr. 42-A/2013 of 28.3, which transposes the EU Directive establishing additional assumptions for calculating the APR . The law now approved clarifies... [more...]

The European Jurists Forum 2013 was focussed in its private law section on the consequences of the financial crisis and the law. In the final panel discussion also consumer views should get a place. This was why at the recommendation of BEUC iff overtook this charge. But the task was nearly impossible since the lawyers seem to see the problems just on the other side of the... [more...]

Guide to reasonable living expenses published today The ISI, in view of these requirements and following a series of meetings and consultations (listed on page 17), has decided to use a model (“ISI model”) which is a modified version of the consensual budget standards model originally developed in Ireland by the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice (“VPSJmodel”) ... [more...]

Paper by the Bristol PFRC https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-impact-on-business-and-consumers-of-a-cap-on-the-total-cost-of-credit   and the UK Government Response to it. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/high-cost-credit-report-by-bristol-university-government-response [more...]

New rule stops companies from charging more than it costs them to process card payments Guidance (published: 26 March 2013): Provides guidance on the outline of the Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012 and their requirements. The Regulations aim to: increase price transparency, enhancing consumers’ ability to choose effectively between different... [more...]

Here attached and as links are the Study on debt solutions produced by London Economics entitled “Study on means to protect consumers in financial difficulty: personal bankruptcy, datio in solutum of mortgages, and restrictions on debt collection abusive practices” and the FSUG Position Paper on it. March 2013: FSUG position paper on the debt solutions research study... [more...]

England’s Department for Education has included financial education in the draft National Curriculum for England in both mathematics and in citizenship education for the first time. This was the fruit of a concerted campaign led in Parliament by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Financial Education for Young People, with the support of pfeg (Personal Finance... [more...]

Central Bank orders debt-help firm to stop taking cash from clients (see article from the Independent) Central bank stops a firm that acts for distressed borrowers from taking payments. Showing the need for the debt management industry to be adequately regulated in Ireland and the EU. Money Village takes money off people in financial trouble and pays it to banks and... [more...]

Here are some links to relevant news that have been recently posted on the ECRC website:   CREDIT UK payday lending and industry code: http://www.responsible-credit.net/index.php?id=1980&viewid=48270   OVERINDEBTEDNESS Overindebtedness - Study of the situation for private households in Italy (in English). http://www.responsible-credit.net/index.php?id=1980&viewid=48266... [more...]

The Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (FCCA or KKV (Kilpailu- ja kuluttajavirasto) began operations on 1 January 2013. The agency was created by joining the Finnish Competition Authority and the Finnish Consumer Agency. The new agency increases the societal significance of competition and consumer issues and improves administration efficiency. The legally mandated... [more...]

The lawyers behind the blog “Recent developments in European Consumer Law” have posted some interesting news on court cases defining unfairness etc..  See http://recent-ecl.blogspot.de/. Below are certain of their recent blog posts (by Candida Leone, Chantal Mak, Joasia Luzak, Bram Duivenvoorde)    Friday, 22 March 2013 Mandatory statutory or regulatory rules on what?... [more...]

The Green Paper tries to clarify the roles of financial institutions for the economy: banks (more stable), insurer, pension funds... E.g. what role can public investment banks play at European and national level (i.e. policy-driven public bank whose mission is to help achieve economic, social and, ultimately, political goals... following the example of the recently... [more...]

The UK payday lending industry has had enough time to demonstrate that it can provide responsible credit that is productive for both sides, it is now too late for the industry to say that it will regulate itself, UK ECRC partner CfRC calls for the government action all have been expecting. The UK industry code of conduct are available below (see... [more...]

See some recent consumer related news from Ireland including the financial supervisor’s new Consumer Protection strategy based on the 5 “C”s framework: CONSUMER alongside CONFIDENCE, COMPLIANCE, CHALLENGE and CULTURE. Personal Insolvency Act 2012 See the following link: http://www.oireachtas.ie/documents/bills28/acts/2012/a4412.pdf Civil Law The Personal Insolvency Act... [more...]

The report will hopefully get national supervisors to closely monitor these identified consumer protection issues   2013 EBA Report on Consumer Trends- Supervisory Concerns Regarding Consumer Protection Issues in 2012/13   Table of contents Executive summary 4 1. Supervisory concerns identified in 2011 and actions taken in 2012 5 1.1 Indebtedness and responsible... [more...]

Household over-indebtedness: definition and measurement with Italian data Bank of Italy Occasional Paper Number 149 – February 2013 by Giovanni D'Alessio and Stefano Iezzi Abstract The last decade has seen significant increases in consumer indebtedness in western countries, causing concern about its economic and social impact. In particular, over-indebtedness is... [more...]

Here attached are two reports recently published by Consumers International. The first contains examples of better practice in consumer protection measures related to financial services’ markets, the second covers the state of consumer protection in the world (but not only with regard to financial services).   In search of good practices - Financial consumer Protection... [more...]

Pilot Project – Capacity building of end-users and non-industry stakeholders in Union policy making in the area of financial services Call Nº: MARKT/2012/119/H 1. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THIS CALL 1.1. Context The financial services sector is a key component of the single market, crucial for the proper functioning of the European economy and for global... [more...]

See the news at the link below including some infographics. Press releases 2013 - OFT acts against leading payday lenders and proposes to refer the sector to Competition Commission 20/13    6 March 2013 The OFT is giving the leading 50 payday lenders, accounting for 90 per cent of the payday market, 12 weeks to change their business practices or risk losing their... [more...]

The news is posted by ECRC partner Christian Schumacher from the Ligue Medico-Sociale, he is also a member of ECDN and the new law for personal insolvency and debt relief is partly the result of the intense exchanges within this EU network, which can be proud of its achievement in promoting the harmonisation of laws in this area among those Member States that still do not... [more...]

EU Banking services – The latest EU consumer scoreboard continues to show that Banking services remain the worst performing group of markets from a consumer perspective. It is unacceptable that consumers continue to struggle to compare the different fees and conditions offered. Banks must make it easier for consumers to choose the right product for them and to switch... [more...]

The preliminary findings of the “The over-indebtedness of European households: updated mapping of the situation, nature and causes, effects and initiatives for alleviating its impact” study was presented at stakeholder seminar on January 24th in Brussels. DG Sanco has announced to publish the final version in April 2013. The summary document for the stakeholder workshop... [more...]

PT – Responsible lending Package Decree-law nr. 226/2012 of 18 October and Decree-law nr. 227/2012 of 25 October constitutes the legislative package that aims to combat situations of over-indebtedness and tackle the escalation of non-compliance consumer credit that have been experiencing in recent years given the difficult economic climate that has affected the country.... [more...]

Journal of Consumer Policy Volume 35, Issue 4, December 2012 Special Issue: The Regulation of Over-indebtedness of Consumers in Europe http://link.springer.com/journal/10603/35/4/page/1   [more...]

Tackling Britain's High Cost Credit Problem Monday, 25th February 2013, London Early bird offer expires this Friday! Book now to secure your place. Britain's high cost credit markets are booming, as the financial pressure on lower income households... [more...]

In September last year the FSUG produced an interesting report with suggestions on how the interests of users of financial servcies can best be protected through new regulation. This collective report from the group adds to the work done by ECRC coalition partners to provide ideas and new ways of thinking to better regulation and outcomes for consumers (e.g. see the work... [more...]

European Commission kick-starts the 2013 European Year of Citizens European Commission, Press release, Brussels, 1 January 2013 As we enter into 2013, the European Commission kicks off the European Year of Citizens, a year dedicated to you and to your rights. This European Year comes at a critical juncture in European integration - 2013 marks the 20th anniversary of EU... [more...]

There is a new book by Anat Admati and Martin Hellwig: The Bankers’ New Clothes: What’s Wrong with Banking and What to Do about it.  Here is their bottom line: We have argued that if banks have much more equity, the financial system will be safer, healthier, and less distorted.  From society’s perspective, the benefits are large and the costs are hard to find; there are... [more...]

Brussels, 8 January 2013 http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-5_en.htm After five years of economic crisis and the return of a recession in 2012, unemployment is hitting new peaks not seen for almost twenty years, household incomes have declined and the risk of poverty or exclusion is on the rise, especially in Member States in Southern and Eastern Europe, according... [more...]

The Commission publishes its action plan to “reignite the entrepreneurial spirit in Europe” which includes a focus on a second chance for honest entrepreneurs (working with the Member States to reduce the duration and cost of bankruptcy procedures and to make it easier for entrepreneurs to start again) and on creating better opportunities for specific groups that are... [more...]

An Introduction to the Brazilian Banking Sector and its Sustainability Practices Amigos da Terra Amazônia Brasileira and BankTrack today release a new guide to the Brazilian banking sector, entitled: “An Introduction to the Brazilian Banking Sector and its Sustainability Practices”. This report is a part of the ‘Building BankTrack in BRICs project’, a major project... [more...]

CfRC calls for individual bank data on SME lending to be made available to Local Economic Partnerships The Centre for Responsible Credit has today welcomed the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills publication of individual bank performance in supporting small to medium enterprises through lending backed by the Enterprise Finance Guarantee but has called for... [more...]

Below is an email from Prof Braucher about the next conference of the Law and Society Association, to be held in Boston and where the subject of household debt will be explored in detail. ---------- You are receiving this e-mail because you have been affiliated with the International Research Collaborative (IRC) on Household Debt for the Law & Society Association. Many... [more...]

Tackling Britain's High Cost Credit Problems Monday, 25th February 2013, America Square Conference Centre, London Britain's high cost consumer credit sector has been booming in recent years. Demand has been driven by a combination of higher unemployment, low wage growth, rising fuel, food and transport costs and cuts in welfare spending. There has been an ... [more...]

The Coalition and its partners increasingly need to discuss the issue of European Monetary Union, the Banking Union and Eurobonds and what its views are on how reform and structural change could contribute to responsible credit and fair finance in Europe. Next Here is today's FT article on the subject... [more...]

ECRC co-founder Debt on our Doorstep with Damon Gibbons from the Centre for Responsible Credit launched a victory on English predatory lenders.    ECRC has been involved in the development of a legal framework for the UK consumer credit market where predatory lenders had found a vast area for exploiting the poor with interest rates far above the average on the continent.... [more...]

Here below are some links that may of interest to those trying to understand changes and deliberations in the UK and the provision of advice there.   Link to research on the Advice Gap in the UK http://www.fs-cp.org.uk/working_for_consumers/what_we_are_doing/advice_gap.shtml Link to research on Simple Products in the UK... [more...]

2 August 2012 An independent steering group set up by the Government has today published initial recommendations on the development of ‘simple’ financial products that will better enable consumers to navigate the financial services market, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Mark Hoban, announced. The independent steering group, chaired by Carol Sergeant (formerly of... [more...]

Current Issues in Consumer Law 5/2012                25/09/2012 PDF versions of this and past issues in English EDITORIAL Looking at money matters The contacts made to the nationwide consumer advisory services and the Consumer Ombudsman provide us with valuable information about the problems faced by Finnish consumers on the markets. In financial services, they often... [more...]

I am pleased to update you on the newest activities of the Observatoire de la Finance :   (1)   recently our new web site, www.obsfin.ch,  has been put in place – it contains the basic information about the Observatoire in English, French, German and Spanish. We will also find there the « Founding texts » in a downloadable format, including our our 1993 report... [more...]

The Committee on International Protection of Consumers, from the International Law Association (London) an Association founded in 1873 together with the Institut de Droit International, Paris developed with its. Sofia Declaration five basic international principles on consumer protection: 1.Principle of vulnerability 2.Principle of the most favorable protection 3.Principle... [more...]

How can we help our communities respond to the financial crisis? The shock waves of the financial crisis are high levels of unemployment and personal debt problems, cuts to public spending, and falling living standards. Households are under severe financial pressure, making access to debt advice and affordable... [more...]

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has just published its annual MIS update, which this year includes the first "rebase" of MIS budgets (those for families with children) since the original research in 2008. You can read all about it at: http://www.minimumincomestandard.org/2012_update.htm and http://www.jrf.org.uk/focus-issue/minimum-income-standards   When MIS was first... [more...]

A book has been making a storm and reports on an interesting development in the microfinance sector which may be of some interest and an intriguing read. Recently a series of scandals and critical academic papers have shed serious doubt over the sector and as we have reported on the ECRC website in 2011, the World Bank’s CGAP and the industry has elaborated some principles... [more...]

Basic banking services must be available to all Plenary Session Economic and monetary affairs 04-07-2012 Basic banking services should be a legal right for the 10% of EU citizens who currently do not have any, including homeless people, those on very low incomes, students, people with no credit record and expatriate workers, Parliament said on Wednesday. MEPs called on... [more...]

Here attached is the FSUG new “2012 Risk Outlook” which details the risks for users (consumers and retail investors) of financial services in the current economic climate and “new economic paradigm”. It calls for additional tough supply side interventions, stresses the need for a more proactive and responsive regulation, a “follow the money” approach to monitoring sectors,... [more...]

The PRIPS is a Regulation and in its current proposed form includes individual pension products when these meet the criteria exposing the investor to a fluctuation in performance that is based on an underlying performance of another asset. The Key Information Document (KID) will be mandatory which will assist the consumer in understanding, comparing and becoming more... [more...]

Here is a link to a report which has come in to the public domain about a specific group of vulnerable consumers (written by National Traveller MABS and edited by Dr. Stuart Stamp). http://www.mabs.ie/fileadmin/user_upload/documents/Reports___Submissions/MABS_Reports_Documentation/Travellers_and_Personal_Finance.pdf The Travelling Community is a small segment of the... [more...]

As the European Commission has launched a pilot training project for non-profit entities across the entire EU on consumer financial service issues in the area of advice to consumers, the UK experience with their MAS has been reviewed by stakeholders in the UK. It shows that there is still a lot to learn on how best to provide advice. The ConFinAd project www.confinad.eu... [more...]

Position on the Natural Capital Declaration Find the full position paper here: http://tinyurl.com/cvfrd66 Rio de Janeiro, Brrazil, June 16 2012: BankTrack, the global coalition of civil society organisations tracking the business activities and investments of private sector banks, has taken note of the official launch of the Natural Capital Declaration (Declaration), on... [more...]

Our efforts to share discussions and reach-out to other fellow interested stakeholders have been taken on to social media platform Facebook. We encourage existing members and new prospective readers of our responsible credit website to confirm that they “Like” us now. Some of our key statements and Principles should be available there. Please post the existence of ECRC on... [more...]

As the policy research institute CEPS creates its policy task force on Consumer Credit Data Sharing, it is time for stakeholders to discuss what this means for consumer protection, potential discrimination etc. While credit bureaus are a key feature of responsible lending, how significant are the risks that certain features and characteristics of this element of the... [more...]

ECRC Dutch partner Nibud attended this year’s German annual responsible financial services conference and has written a summary of its participation. The Nibud also pointed out some of the work done by the Consumentenbond in the area of basic products a subject iscussed att he conference.   The website concerning the Consumentenbond-campaign on basic financial products:... [more...]

To help Member States to correctly apply the Consumer Credit Directive, the Commission published on 8 May 2012 Guidelines on the application of the Directive 2008/48/EC in relation to costs and the Annual Percentage Rate of charge. The Guidelines provide comprehensive explanations how to delineate the total cost of credit, in particular to be included in the calculation of... [more...]

In France, coalition partners and others have been actively calling for bank greater transparency and the benefits of having a data collection infrastructure on the extent and nature of bank lending and presence in serving consumers and their communities. The best example available for such a possible system is still the US Community Reinvestment Act from 1977 and the... [more...]

Conference on Financial Inclusion Priorities in Europe 25 May 2012, Brussels Venue : European Economic and Social Committee rue Bélliard, 99 – 1040 Brussels Organised by the EFIN financial inclusion network, key stakeholders and partners of the ECRC will be attending to discuss issues and promote the financial inclusion agenda. The main goal of the event is to identify... [more...]

Responding to the Financial Crisis in our Communities, 26th September, London This year’s UK Centre for Responsible Credit Conference will focus how we can help our local communities to respond to the financial crisis – seeking to forge more effective partnerships between mainstream financial services providers, local authorities, housing providers, debt advice agencies,... [more...]

The annual conference entitled "Not just an Economy, A JUST Economy" took place on April 18-21 2012 in Washington DC. The annual event organised by key ECRC supporting organisation from the US the national Community Reinvestment Coalition, has been a great success. With American community groups from all US States making their way to the capital, for a 3 and half day... [more...]

ECRC Irish partner FLAC (Free Legal Advice Centres) has organised a conference on personal insolvency run in Dublin on April 19th. Discussions and presentations from international speakers centered around private bankrupcy and the Irish draft scheme for a forthcoming Personal Insolvency Bill which was published in Ireland at the end of January and likely to be published at... [more...]

ECRC will be represented at a conference being organised at the University of Bari in Italy on 19-21 July 2012. The conference will bring together legal scholars, jurists, lawyers, policymakers and practitioners from public and private institutions and organisations from all over Europe and we encourage ECRC partners to join. Reputable experts in the field will be present... [more...]

Consultation on Bank accounts 20.3.2012: Consultation on Bank accounts, deadline: 12.6.2012, Midday Express, MEX/12/0320 Objective of the consultation The purpose of this consultation is to gather stakeholders’ views on the need for action and on the possible measures to be taken in relation to the issues of transparency and comparability of bank account fees, bank... [more...]

OECD and G20 have published the G20 HIGH-LEVEL PRINCIPLES ON FINANCIAL CONSUMER PROTECTION. While during the neo-liberal period before the crash consumer protection in financial services "consumers" had been reduced to "users and clients", "protection of their wellbeing" to the guarantee of (financial) "advantages" and justice to the guarantee of "markets and choices",... [more...]

Special Eurobarometer on retail financial services SPECIAL EUROBAROMETER 373 This Eurobarometer survey examines public opinion in the area of retail financial services (bank accounts, mortgage credit, consumer credit, stocks/bonds/shares, investment funds, insurance and payments). The survey covered 26 856 EU citizens in all 27 EU Member States. It analyses the way in... [more...]

ECRC partner iff has teamed up together with BEUC (the European Consumers Organisation) to develop and run training courses for non-profit consumer advisers giving information, guidance and non-recommendation advice to consumers. The IMCO (Consumer Protection) and ECON committees of the European Parliament held a public event to hear the views of the providers and... [more...]

Because ESMA and EIOPA and EBA have all been given a consumer protection mandate through law, the ECRC will need to ensure that this mandate is being fulfilled and that enforcement of its objectives takes place. Please find below the "Financial Innovation and Consumer Protection - Overview of EBA work in 2011-2012". EBA's workplan on consumer protection includes a... [more...]

Consumers: Switching bank accounts – 8 out of 10 mystery shoppers faced difficulties Brussels, 24 February 2012 - Switching your bank account may not be as easy as you hope. Results of a consumer market study published today show that more than two thirds of mystery shoppers were not able to switch their bank account successfully. The Commission's 2007 inquiry into the... [more...]

Extract from Current Issues in Consumer Law (1/2012) Improvements in the consumer’s legal position in 2008-2011 A new Government Consumer Policy Programme is nearing completion. The priorities of the programming period 2008 – 2011 were ensuring a high level of consumer protection, promoting sustainable modes of consuming and production, enhancing the consumer’s role and... [more...]

The number of seats is limited so register early. For details of the programme and logistics, please visit the conference webpage: http://www.finance-watch.org/conference-programme/. For any additional information, please contact us at conference@finance-watch.org. The deadline for registration is 6 March 2012. Finance and Society Conference 2012 Addressing fragility and... [more...]

Please see the link below to the conference flyer from Money Advice Scotland on Gambling and debt This is a problem in several EU Member States and is worth exploring. The MA Scotland have excellent speakers, and incase ECRC colleagues might be interested (as Gambling and debt must be more of a growing problem as it is in Scotland with the recession), please sign up or... [more...]

Last month, the IMCO Committee held a hearing on an EU Basic Bank account and discussions focused on the EC Reccomendation on basic payment account. One of the Speakers, alongside others such as Prof Reifner (iff and ECRC), see previous note, was Jim Murray, President European Foundation for Financial Inclusion (former BEUC Managing Director). His intervention delivered... [more...]

STUDY for IMCO (January 2012): Implementation of the Consumer Credit Directive Abstract The study examines the state and the main difficulties of the implementation of Directive 2008/48/EC on credit agreements for consumers using the examples of fourteen Member States of the European Union. The analysis focuses on fully harmonised aspects of the Directive as well as on the... [more...]

“To end all crises?” download Finance Watch’s position paper on CRD IV / CRR Download position paper 2 February 2012: Finance Watch has published its position paper on CRD IV, the European legislation implementing Basel III bank capital reforms. Key recommendations include: - higher capital requirements to accommodate maximum harmonisation - a flexible leverage ratio... [more...]

Watch the Financial counselling you-tube film and download the 200+page handbook at www.consumersinternational.org/FE; and see CI's new report, The Remittances Game of Chance: playing with loaded dice?. Remittances Read th report which explores the background to issues of money transfers around the world and sets out the case for bringing down costs through promoting... [more...]

The news below, in French, concerns the updates that professionals “selling” consumer credits should follow to be considered respecting the Consumer code. In a nutshell, it is about different types of credit, legislation, rights and duties of the borrower and the intermediates, reasons of over indebtedness and prevention. Crédit à la consommation proposé sur le lieu de... [more...]

The Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO), European Parliament has held an additional hearing on the basic bank account following hearings by both the IMCO and ECON hearings from last year. Prof. Reifner from ECRC partner iff contributed to the debate on EU basic banking legislation with a presentation and paper on the role of overindebtedness... [more...]

Please find the link below to the press release of the German Federal Ministry of Finance on product information sheets for consumers of old-age pension savings and investments. The study and designed sheets are available in German at the link, and a short summary of the work led by iff and others is available in English as an attachment below. [more...]

Presentations from last years' European Consumer Debt Network conference in Gdansk are available at the link below [more...]

Financial institution and credit intermediary compliance with the relevant EU consumer rules on information duties of only 30% is shocking news. Why are so many firms not taking legal provisions seriously? Only France and Portugal flagged less than 1 of every 2 provider websites checked ( [more...]

NEW REPORT: EUROPEAN BANKS FUELLING FOOD PRICE VOLATILITY AND HUNGER   European banks, pension funds and insurance companies are increasing global hunger and poverty by speculating on food prices and financing land grabs in poorer countries,... [more...]

The UK partner CfRC reports the following from its newsletter bulletin to subscribers of the service. FSA edges backwards on responsible lending requirements in the mortgage market The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has published a new set of proposed responsible lending requirements for consultation as part of its Mortgage Market Review, following considerable... [more...]

Current Issues in Consumer Law 6/2011 Theme: Senior citizens EDITORIAL Sprightly old age cannot be taken for granted The issue of the elderly and their needs has recently been raised in various contexts. There has been some debate, for example, as a result of the Finnish Act on Services for the Elderly, now being drafted, the standard of service in care homes, and the... [more...]

See the attachments below for more information on BEUC opinion and study on the EU Commissioner Reding's project.   Optional Soft Law Instrument on EU contract law for businesses and consumers - Study for BEUC by Geraint Howells, Hans-W. Micklitz and Norbert Reich European contract law: 28th regime - BEUC's 10 reservations More can be found at the European Commission... [more...]

Credit and low income consumers: new Policis study opposes caps on credit A new study published by the Friends Provident Foundation argues that low income borrowers tend to incur high behaviour-driven costs on mainstream credit and can struggle to avoid unmanageable debt that they cannot pay off. In contrast, it argues that those low-income borrowers choosing to use... [more...]

HM Treasury and BIS have now published their response to the consumer credit aspects of the Consumer Credit and Personal Insolvency Review. The response sets out details of a new agreement with the main banks concerning current account default charges, as well a new agreement with store card providers. It also provides further details of newly commissioned research to... [more...]

DG SANCO along with several other DGs have been running significant programmes to promote consumer protection and empowerment. The results of the evaluation are not the same and DOLCETA comes out badly as a value for money project in the best interests of consumers, whereas TRACE courses for capacity building in national consumer organisations is evaluated more favourably... [more...]

The School of Social Policy at the University of Birmingham welcomes applications for a funded PhD scholarship on the topic of ... Personal finance education: What is it for?  And how best to do it? Context During the 1980s and 1990s, the financial landscape in the UK, as in many Western states, became increasingly complex with the growth of the credit industry, the... [more...]

A Draft Report on the Treatment of Insolvency of Natural Persons is being discussed and will serve as the basis for the discussions at the meeting of the expert group next week. The meeting will take place in the Preston Auditorium at the World Bank Headquarters located at 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, DC 22043. The Thursday, Nov 17, morning session is also open to... [more...]

BEUC has called for strong independent Financial Consumer Protection Authorities at the national level. Recommendations were based on those of a study conducted earlier this year (see attached document below). ----- See Proposal for a Consumer Programme 2014-2020 The proposal for a 2014-2020 Consumer Programme was adopted by the European Commission on 9 November 2011. It... [more...]

Call for Papers The Center for Consumer Law at the University of Houston Law Center  Teaching Consumer Law Conference – Houston, Texas, 18 & 19 May 2012 The Center for Consumer Law at the University of Houston Law Center is organizing its sixth international law teaching conference. The subject is “Teaching Consumer Law in an Evolving Economy.”  The Conference will focus... [more...]

Damon Gibbons, Chief Executive of the Centre for Responsible Credit, delivers a keynote address at BDAC's 21st Anniversary Conference 'Debt in the 21st Century' Please click here to hear Damon’s talk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2xyVdxf2pU [more...]

Are Anglo-Saxon regulators in Australia and the UK really trying to improve the past failures of credit insurance products for consumers. In both countries, reports have shown the intentional low-value design by providers and exposed the dirty tactics and uncountable instances of misspelling that have gone unpunished. See the recent market report from Australia and the... [more...]