Responsible Credit

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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...]

Here are the links to the new UK Centre for Responsible Credit's e-briefing for the past weeks. 8.2.10 http://www.responsible-credit.org.uk/ebrief08022010.html 1.2.10 www.responsible-credit.org.uk/ebrief01022010.html 25.1.10 www.responsible-credit.org.uk/ebrief25012010.html [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 ... [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...]

BEUC has 42 Members: Of which a third (14 organisations) are ECRC partners There is therefore a good reason for us to ask these partners that they voice their demands within this umbrella organisation so that the management understands that: 1) BEUC should make an active commitment to cooperate in organising conferences on the issues of financial services for consumers... [more...]

The umbrella organisation of many European consumer and test organisations has published its opinion concerning the financial crisis and its roots. It also has developed concrete demands to overcome this crisis and prevent future problems. Entitled "FACING UP TO THE FINANCIAL CRISIS - BEUC’s concrete suggestions to protect consumers in the short and long term January... [more...]

IRELAND’S BANKS AGREE NEW PROTOCOL WITH MABS TO HELP CUSTOMERS TO MANAGE DEBT IN CHALLENGING TIMES 12 LEADING BANKS SUBSCRIBE TO PROTOCOL - PROTOCOL FULLY OPERATIONAL ON 28 SEPTEMBER The country's leading 12 credit institutions are subscribing to a new Protocol to help personal customers to manage their debt. Developed jointly over two years by the Irish Banking... [more...]

The document represents the summary of the European Mortgage Industry’s reflections upon the subject of responsible lending at this point in time, but remains a work-in-progress upon which the EMF would welcome the comments of stakeholders. 11 Remarks and 15 Indicators! The 15 items treated as Indicators are not actually indicators until they become measureable and this... [more...]

Inclusion helped ECRC organise the responsible credit conference in London in November 2008, they are now organising a conference in Liverpool aimed at helping people to find and keep a job…. Crucial for any indebted person that has instalments to pay…. 16-17 June 2009, ACC, Liverpool Unemployment is rising at its fastest rate since 1981, and 2.2 million people are... [more...]

See links below on for News from Ireland in the 21st Century: MOTHER TAKES CASE TO FIGHT OUR DEBTOR PRISON LAWS Irish Independent, 14.05.2009, By Dearbhail McDonald and Tim Healy A MOTHER who borrowed money to pay for her newborn baby’s funeral and support her alcohol dependency has taken a landmark legal action challenging Ireland’s “Victorian” debtors’ prison laws. ... [more...]

The efforts of ECRC are part of a global coalition for responsible credit. Benoit Granger and John Taylor will be speaking on behalf of our coalition. In a few days, BRASILCON will be holding its conference on responsible credit. With the support of the Central Bank of Brazil it has thus received the support of the authorities that the issues we are dealing with within... [more...]

100 + DIVERSE NATIONAL AND STATE GROUPS SUPPORT DURBIN’S S. 500 BILL March 2, 2009 Dear Senator Durbin: We applaud you for introducing S.500 that would stop a wide range of lending abuses by capping interest rates for consumer credit at 36 percent annually. Cleaning up the finance industry is essential to a sustainable economic recovery. The “Protecting Consumers from... [more...]

Having now heard what the ECRC proposes to help solve the crisis, will the European Commission ensure that what consumer representatives would like to see implemented, actually does? (Below is the extract of last year's meeting): Minutes of the European Consumer Consultative Group (ECCG) 8-9 December 2008 2. European Commission role in banking/financial crisis (ECCG2008... [more...]

Prof. Reifner (iff and current chair of ECRC) has been invited to speak in the session 3 on “protecting and educating consumers in the financial sector”. More details about the content of his contribution will follow. OECD CONFERENCE ON CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY “Consumer Empowerment and Responsible Business Conduct” 15 June 2009 - OECD Conference Centre, Paris, France ... [more...]

ADICAE is informing coalition partners of the possibility of attendance to their international Seminar "The User of Means of Payment Against the e-Fr@ud", in Barcelona on May 11th and 12th. A few places are left for special invitation of ECRC partners with ADICAE assuming the whole expenses of the trip and accommodation of the attendants. Please, answer ASAP because of... [more...]

On Friday 6 February, the European Commission launched a public consultation on "Financial inclusion: Ensuring access to a basic bank account". This initiative is a follow-up to the 'Single Market for 21st Century Europe' package, in which the European Commission had highlighted the need to ensure that nobody is denied access to a basic bank account. The recent DG EMPL... [more...]

Carmine Di Noia and Stefano Micossi have written a report for CEPS on the crisis. They see the emphasis on the macroeconomic instability and there is no mention of irresponsible credit practices as a contributing cause of the crisis. Although lax regulation of financial markets and excessive leverage is tackled in the report, according to them there is no need to... [more...]

Many people in Europe were sold junk bonds with a Lehman Brothers’ Certificate as a safe investment opportunity. The provisions paid to those banks that channeled it into the general public must have been quite high so that a lot of irresponsible advice was given. In Germany, the Hamburg Savings bank HASPA, who sold Lehmann Brothers certificates as secure investments to... [more...]

Academics from Chemnitz in Germany have organised a forum for experts on overindebtedness and are helping the responsible credit coalition by promoting discussions on the cause and consequences of overindebtedness. A dozen experts from the EU and ten presenters coming from the US, China; Japan, Kanada and Australia came to Chemnitz on 26-28 of March 2009. The programme... [more...]

Global Coalition for Responsible Credit calls on G20 leaders to create a financial system ‘worth saving’ Debt on our Doorstep, with support in the UK from the trade unions UNITE and PCS, the New Economics Foundation, Church Action on Poverty, the National Housing Federation, and former Cabinet Minister and Chair of the Labour Party Ian McCartney M.P, and with the support... [more...]

They too agree that predatory lending should be stoppped and amongst the things they call for are interest rate caps which ECRC wants to see seriously discussed in the coming months... Below is the attachment which will be submitted in the name of the global trade union movement to the G20 next week (page 9 refers to predatory lending in particular). [more...]

UKRAINE Retail financial services markets in Ukraine have been paralyzed in the last few months, with few indicators on when the situation will improve. At the moment, the provision of consumer credit has entirely stopped. As in most Central and Eastern European countries, widespread lending in foreign currency was typical in the Ukraine, a practice started by foreign... [more...]

"European Consumer Summit" on April 1 and 2, 2009 While there are problems to convince people from different Member States to get to know each other, learn other languages and cultures, the focus of the Commission seems to be still much more on markets. As people are reluctant to shop across borders, the Internet has become the favourite spot where Brussels discovers the... [more...]

“CONSUMER TRUST IN THE DIGITAL MARKET PLACE” (1-2 APRIL) This is the title of the “first ever EU Consumer Summit will be held in Brussels, bringing together over 250 high level stakeholders from industry, consumer organisations, EU and national institutions and NGOs to discuss the challenges and opportunities for consumers in the Digital World. Consumer Commissioner... [more...]

The report on Banking failure and how to build a fit financial sector says that instead of serving ordinary people and businesses banks have simply become too big and remote that that basic service is a sideline. It worns that branches are still closing and those that remain have no local managers and deal with loan applications on the basis of abstract national and... [more...]

The arguments to let positive data enter are more negative ones since allowing only negative data the picture will get wrong. A customer who defaults in a small credit will have this information available while the fact that he serviced a big loan for years without problems may not be considered. This is certainly a big disadvantage. On the other hand removing all barriers... [more...]

„A New Era of Responsibility“ The Coalition for Responsible Credit (ECRC) welcomes this new American Blue Print and invites Politicians who share these convictions not to spare the financial sector and make the ECRC Principles of Responsible Credit operational. “New Era of Responsibility” – An Alternative to the neo-liberal “Fairnes Approach” According to Wall Street... [more...]

MORE RESPONSIBLE LENDING TO SAFEGUARD AGAINST FUTURE FINANCIAL CRISES? In December, the OECD prepared a strategic response to the global financial crisis. Their suggestions for crisis management highlight the importance of environment-friendly solutions and warn nations against resorting to protectionism to combat recession. The strategy includes a variety of ways to... [more...]

Below is a link to the newsletter and extracts from kuluttajavirasto’s Current Issues 1 2009. The Current Issues in Consumer Law is the Finnish Consumer Ombudsman's online newsletter for all those who want to keep up to date with the latest developments in consumer law and consumer policy. ---------- PROBLEMS WITH CREDIT MUST BE TACKLED ON A BROAD FRONT The consultation... [more...]

On Friday 6 February, the European Commission launched a public consultation on "Financial inclusion: Ensuring access to a basic bank account". This initiative is a follow-up to the 'Single Market for 21st Century Europe' package, in which the European Commission had highlighted the need to ensure that nobody is denied access to a basic bank account. The recent DG EMPL... [more...]

12th International Conference on Consumer Law Organised by NALSAR in association with the International Association of Consumer Law Hyderabad , 25-27 February 2009 PROVISIONAL PROGRAMME Wednesday 25th February 2008 Excerpt of topics regarding financial services and consumer credit Vasundhra Ravi & Geetanjali Dhankhar, Post-Graduate students, NALSAR (India), Development... [more...]

COURTS JAIL 276 PEOPLE FOR DEBT DEFAULT By Seán McCárthaigh, Irish examiner, Friday, January 30, 2009 An alarming 276 people were jailed last year for failing to repay loans to banks and other financial institutions. The Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has warned more people will face imprisonment for defaulting on loan repayments due to the worsening economic... [more...]

Current times will lead to a greater need for consumers to obtain some form of protection (PPI cover or other), the Competition Commission releases its final report and say that high prices and little choice will change. This means initial credit providers will have to compete (no more 'point-of-sale' advantage) and there will be a requirement on all PPI providers to... [more...]

Damon Gibbons teams up with a UK member of parliament to recommend a solution to protect low income borrowers in the credit crisis. Paper calls for: UK banks to report on their actions in meeting the needs of lower income households and small businesses for access to responsible credit; Government to help establish a working group; Government to place a limit on the cost... [more...]

Below is the report concerning the national responsible credit conference held in Helsinki the 20th of November, as well as some news from Finland including the recent change beginning of 2009 making Consumer Advisory Services move from municipalities to the state. (From ECRC partner, Consumer Agency, Finland) RESPONSIBLE LENDING - ABOVE THE LAW, AT THE LEVEL OF DAILY... [more...]

The FSA found failings in approximately 40 per cent of telephone sales of credit card PPI made by Egg between January 2005 and December 2007. Egg sold PPI either when receiving a customer services call, or when making a sales call to a new customer. When Egg customers said they did not want PPI on their credit cards, the firm directed its sales staff to use techniques to... [more...]

Below is an article analyzing the what-ifs of Royal Bank of Scotland's U.S. subsidiaries Charter One and Citizens Banks being sold off, now that the UK government owns more then half of RBS. While listing the big banks which probably won't make it bid, it hypes Capital One, Morgan Stanley, Suntrust and Regions, saying that the last two might use their US government TARP... [more...]

Hosted by NALSAR, the conference held from 25-27 Feb 2009 in Hyderabad, is especially designed for consumer law experts and has an eminent panel of speakers planned. We hope to gather stakeholders from the world over and continue to discuss our Principles of Responsible Credit! ----- 12TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CONSUMER LAW HYDERABAD 25-27 FEBRUARY 2009 The 12th... [more...]

ECRC and US partner NCRC are happy to have the ‘London Declaration’ available in an increasing number of languages. Thanks to BRASILCON, Brazilian Institute of Policy and Consumers Law, these now exist in Portuguese too. We look forward to the reaction that the Brazilian Public Authorities will have when the London Declaration and the ECRC Principles of Responsible Credit... [more...]

The conference planned this Friday 28th November 2008 entitled “How Can Behavioural Economics Improve Policies Affecting Consumers?” is now fully booked, but will be available for those who still want to follow the Conference via the live webstreaming link below. Simply focussing on financial literacy and information provision may not be the most effective policy for our... [more...]

On 8/9 December, the European Consumer Consultative Group (ECCG) will hear from the Commission on the "European Commission role in banking/financial crisis" (item 2 in agenda below). Certain ECCG members will not simply await the Commission presentation, but will take a pro-active initiative by requesting in advance that the Commission responds to the “London Declaration”... [more...]