Country Reports

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...]

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...]

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...]

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...]

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...]

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...]

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...]

Our Finnish partner gives us all a clear example of the sort of activities and newsletters which we should all be trying to report make to each other. The Finnish Consumer Agency's Newsletter 3/2008 has the theme: Financial Services. The edition reports on: MARKETING: The importance of making sure that contractual terms are clear and advertising is straightforward, that... [more...]

Below is the British Bankers' Association (BBA) press release announcing the New Banking Code and the new provisions. NEW BANKING CODE LAUNCHED 31/03/2008 The new Banking Code and Business Banking Code contain an enhanced promise by banks and building societies to treat customers fairly and reasonably. That promise is supported by eight key commitments and the standards... [more...]

SUBMISSION TO DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE ON THE REGULATION OF SUB PRIME AND OTHER UNREGULATED PROVIDERS OF FINANCIAL SERVICES FREE LEGAL ADVICE CENTRES, OCTOBER 5TH, 2007 Introduction Free Legal Advice Centres welcomes the decision of the Government and the Department of Finance to introduce legislation to extend the scope of financial regulation and the consumer protection... [more...]

(By Emma Kennedy from the Sunday Business Post - Dublin,Ireland) Sub-prime mortgage lenders and equity release firms have welcomed the Financial Regulator’s decision to regulate the sector with effect from early next year. Previously, these types of firms were not fully regulated by the Financial Regulator, but they will be authorised and supervised from February. Firms... [more...]

We remind you of the section of the website dedicated to national conferences (see the link below to read the reports from the various ECRC national conferences that have taken place this year). Also attached are the two latest reports from Paris (in French) and from Edinburgh (in English). We hope that details on the discussions that featured in these events will... [more...]

Plenary 2 Reports from Brazil, Japan,South Africa, Finland [more...]

BRUSSELS 2007! Plenary 2: Ireland, Switzerland (de); Spain [more...]

P2a: TWO YEARS OF A GLOBAL COALITION: Udo Reifner (ECRC, Germany) and John Taylor (NCRC, USA) P2b: REPORTS FROM THE NATIONAL CONFERENCES AND DOMESTIC DISCUSSIONS Edinburgh: Damon Gibbons, DOOD (UK); Helsinki: Anja Peltonen, kuluttajavirasto (Finland); Capetown: Chris Osborn, you & your money (RSA); Trento: Paolo Landi, Adiconsum (Italy); Bern: Mario Roncoroni, Verein... [more...]

- Imminent - [more...]

ECRC’s founding Dutch member Harro Norder from NVVK (Dutch council of municipal banks) shares with us the latest initiatives he and his bank have led in their efforts to make Dutch credit markets more socially responsible. LIMITED INTEREST RATES Over-indebtedness is strongly related to small loans with high interest rates. Financing cars, home video sets and so one are... [more...]

ECRC member DOOD took part in a meeting on wednesday 6 December, organised by the Social Market Foundation where the Chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, Rt Hon John McFall MP, shared his views on the discussion title "Regulating by Values: Is a sustainable responsible lending policy required?" Speakers included: John McFall MP (Chair, Treasury Select Committee);... [more...]

At the Swiss conference in Berne organised by the Berne debt advice organisation, Charly Gmür from Lucerne presented a number of low level beehives all containing small windows through which one could see specific case studies and where by peering inside one could read the concrete story of how a consumer had been lured into overindebtedness by inadequate bank behaviour as... [more...]

Government even more behind single parent families as new statistics show that more than half of new clients are single or single with children. Other statistics include: only 21.2% of the clients have mortgages, and over half of the debt is owed to banks/financial institutions and a further 21.8% owed to credit unions. MINISTER ANNOUNCES MAJOR STRENGTHENING OF... [more...]

LOOK BEYOND MIFID (by Roger Tym, partner at law firm Lovells) MiFID and TCF requirements coming into effect next year could merely be the prelude to wider change of definitions in relation to the concept of acting fairly when providing and intermediating financial services, warns Roger Tym, partner at law firm Lovells. He suggests the current challenge in coming up... [more...]

Oliver Haas of the iff (Hamburg) contributes to the ILO mandate given to the Social Finance Program to establish a sound knowledge base about the links between over-indebtedness and its implications for the protection of wages. This first of a series of country case studies will help to identify areas for improvement in consumer protection and entry points for advisory and... [more...]

THE FSA FLINCHES (Sep 7th 2006, The Economist) A ROW BREAKS OUT OVER THE FUTURE OF JAPAN'S CONSUMER FINANCE WEEKLY manga magazines such as Shonen Magazine, which targets males in their late teens and early twenties, are fairly barren when it comes to advertisements. That makes the glossy ads they carry for consumer-finance companies stand out. That Japanese youths are... [more...]

SHARK-INFESTED WATERS (From The Economist Aug 10th 2006) CONTROVERSIAL REFORMS MAY HELP JAPAN, EVEN IF THEY HURT LENDERS AS A registered moneylender, Syouichi Kawamura has what, at first glance, looks like a cosy job. He spends his day cycling around bars and restaurants in the Ginza district of Tokyo, collecting money from his clients. The hard part is keeping tabs on... [more...]

Attacks on usury ceilings in Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands with regard to the seemingly successful English "free market system" in credit, is now counteracted by 150 members of the English parliament who have signed a declaration on interest rates caps to be introduced into the UK. 150 MP’S SUPPORT A CAP ON INTEREST RATES Support in Parliament is... [more...]

BANK WARNS OF PRIVATE SECTOR INDEBTEDNESS (The Irish Times - Laura Slattery and Gabrielle Monaghan) Private sector borrowing is rising at the fastest rate in over six years, the Central Bank said yesterday, despite repeated calls for moderation. The annual growth rate in private sector credit hit 30.3 per cent in June, up from 29.8 per cent in May, and the strongest... [more...]

SOUNDING THE RETREAT (Jul 13th 2006 from The Economist) THE BANKS PULL BACK ON CONSUMER LENDING It could not have been clearer that consumer lending was out of control in 2003, when the Royal Bank of Scotland offered Monty Slater a credit card with a £10,000 ($16,300) limit and the chance to earn air-miles. Monty was, according to his owner, a “lovely shih-tzu” dog. ... [more...]

RESPONSIBLE CREDIT WHY? Lots of research actually shows us that financial problems lead to social problems. Obvious classical themes such as social exclusion, easy access to the criminal scene and so on are often discussed. Being aware of the social ramifications that a problematic financial situation can have is important, but it is not always the only source of... [more...]

by Melina Mouzouraki Legal Adviser of EKPIZO Consumers’ Association NATIONAL REPORT G G R E E C E TABLE of CONTENTS 1. Introduction – Level of indebtedness, main providers of credit for consumers, percentage of people in default 2. Access to credit in Greece 3. Protective rules on over-indebtedness a. Overindebtedness as a problem... [more...]

by Boštjan Krisper, ICORI 1. ICORI International Consumer Research Institute - ICORI was founded in 1993 by the Slovene Consumers’ Association (ZPS) and the British consumer organization Consumer Association and is seated in Ljubljana. ICORI is a research organization, which deals with consumer policy, consumer research, comparative testing of quality of consumer... [more...]

Conference on responsible credit - April 28 & 29, 2006 – Brussels Responsible credit – the position in Malta Paul Edgar Micallef Malta Consumer Affairs Council1 Until the enactment of the Consumer Credit Regulations in March 2005 there were no express norms regulating the provision of credit to consumers. Credit to consumers was a matter regulated by the general... [more...]

iff offers their background material to its 2003 report on Regulations to prevent overindebtedness in the European Union. Use it and send us updates or add your country and answer its questions so that we can further draw an actual and complete picture on cultural achievements on responsible credit in Europe. [more...]

I. Country presentation (Q.1) · Level of indebtedness (as of 31 Dec 2005): o Total outstanding consumer credit („Other loans to domestic employees and other individuals”): 234 Billion €, o Total outstanding mortgage credit (“Housing loans to domestic employees and other individuals”): 779 Billion € All in all the level of indebtedness has increased continuously over... [more...]

1. Introduction Population 4.1 m Credit Providers : Retail banks, Building societies, Credit Unions, Moneylenders (Home Credit), Mail order companies, Hire Purchase organisations, Supermarkets, Local authorities, Gas Board, credit intermediaries such as large retail outlets and car sales. • Mortgage debt 82% of total personal debt. • 76% home ownership 2nd highest... [more...]

Introduction The UK has experienced a significant growth in the level of consumer and mortgage lending since the deregulation of financial services in the 1980’s. Both types of credit are now avail-able from a myriad of providers, including banks, the remaining few mutual building societies, and specialist lenders – including specialist sub-prime lenders and those... [more...]

Value chain of the volkskredietbank (a public bank to support overindebted people in the Netherlands) by Harro Norder Putting the primary activities in a value chain, a simplification of the reality is there. The key job is “reallocating money” The first step is the front office department. Individuals or HR-managers of company do make a appointment. At this point... [more...]

STRENGTHENED BANKING CODE OFFERS GREATER PROTECTION FOR CUSTOMERS 30/03/2006 Additional guidance on the Banking Code will offer greater protection for customers who borrow from banks, building societies and credit card companies. The new guidance, which is published on April 1, covers the following lending situations: • CONSOLIDATION LOANS: Where a consolidation loan... [more...]

In the year 2004 the Czech Consumer Association (CCA) developed and launched consumer campaign called “Read before you sign!”, warning, informing and educating consumers to be aware, cautious and vigilant before they conclude any consumer contract - particularly when signing up for credits, financial loans, mortgage etc. In the frame of this campaign CCA have issued... [more...]

Mutual recognition and maximum harmonisation were widely criticised as a foreign doctrine. Linked agreements with less protection in the future? Consumer credit and debt issues become predominant also in small states. Dr. David Fabri, the leading Maltese expert on consumer law experessed the worries of a small country within the EU to be neglected in its special cultural... [more...]

130 persons from social organizations with about 10% from the supplier side attended the important UK conference. The extensive report is documented here. The conference "FAIR FINANCE AND RESPONSIBLE LENDING" was held in London - November 14-15, 2005 and was organised by Debt on Our Doorstep/UK with the participation of: New Economics Foundation/UK, Oxfam/UK, Community... [more...]

Australian MP makes public the report of a consumer credit review ordered by the Government of Victoria (Melbourne). While identifying problems with overindebtedness, credit card credit, small amounts of credit with the very poor, the report shows that this Australian subnational basically follows the UK approach of self-regulation, alternative finance and market driven... [more...]

FIGHT FOR REASONABLE LOAN RATE FOR CONSUMERS The symposium regarding regulations of high interest rates of consumer loans, organized by JFBA (The Japan Federation of Bar Associations), was held in Tokyo on the 19th November, 2005. Over the past ten years, the official discount rate and bank loan interest rate have been quite low. Companies engaged in the consumer loan... [more...]