| 09/07/10 |
Centre for Responsible Credit, London: UK help of Interest Subsidies for Mortgage Borrowers against Foreclosure is threatened |
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...]
| 24/09/09 |
G20 - Global Coalition renews its call for banks ‘worth saving’ / Rappel vers les leaders du G20 à créer un système financier qui mérite d’être sauvé |
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...]
| 10/06/09 |
DOCUMENTARY – ECRC partner ADICAE in Spain has made a recent documentary on private household debt in Spain with subtitles in English |
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...]
| 04/06/09 |
Ireland's banks agree new Protocol with MABS to help customers to manage debt in challenging times |
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...]
| 14/04/09 |
Report on the crisis – Brussels think tank calls for simple solutions rather than more difficult and potentially more pertinent solutions regarding sustainable financial services. |
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...]
| 30/03/09 |
Global unions give their opinion on the crisis. |
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...]
| 10/03/09 |
NEF REPORT - UK Coalition partner suggests one way how banks could be brought to fulfil their original function. |
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...]
| 28/01/09 |
UK INITIATIVE - On the back of the successful ECRC conference in London in 2008, and severely affected UK economy by the ongoing financial crisis, UK coalition partner continues to be... |
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...]
| 22/11/08 |
US UPDATE – Some recent media reports on the situation in the US |
SUB-PRIME MORTGAGES - FANNIE, FREDDIE RIDE FORECLOSURE FREEZE TIDE (BY SCOTT SABATINI, Legal News Line) WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline)--As Capitol Hill remains under siege from all sides of America's faltering economy, pressure to stem the tide of foreclosures continued to make inroads as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac became the latest to join the foreclosure freeze movement. ... [more...]
| 20/11/08 |
THE LONDON DECLARATION – Signatories from 20 countries present at our ECRC London Responsible Credit Conference last week give their support to the London Declaration! |
Below is the "London Declaration in English. We have asked partners to translate it in their national language: It is already available in German, French, Croatian and Romanian... THE ‘LONDON DECLARATION’ ON THE GLOBAL CREDIT CRISIS 13th November 2008 We, the European Coalition for Responsible Credit, with the support of our partners around the globe, call on our... [more...]
| 19/11/08 |
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT – Are the elected deputies interested in protecting the European consumer or simply interested in improving their awareness of how to protect themselves? |
The efforts by Bulgarian MEP Iliana Iotova are laudable but there may be too much utopia in her solution of simply “teaching children about basic finance so they avoid getting into bad debts at a later age”. The experience of other EU Member States with more financially literate consumers than those exposed to credit and debt over a shorter period of time (such as... [more...]
| 19/11/08 |
REGULATION OF BANK LENDING – China offers an approach which regulators worldwide should think about applying in creative ways to improve the sustainability of financial services. |
Friends of the Earth and BankTrack show in their report that China’s “Green Credit Policy” will make a difference. In the current economic climate, where banks are themselves relying on external funds from the public purse, is it possible to apply a similar set of regulation to China’s but aimed at controlling the “responsible credit” impact of the bank’s consumer lending... [more...]
| 19/11/08 |
CRA - The Community Reinvestment Act is not the cause of the crisis. Such allegations are too simplistic and ignore all undisclosed subprime lending which was not conducted through this... |
NEWS RELEASE November 19, 2008, Contact: Robert M. Garsson (202) 874-5770 COMPTROLLER DUGAN SAYS CRA NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR SUBPRIME LENDING ABUSES BALTIMORE — Comptroller of the Currency John C. Dugan said he categorically disagrees with suggestions that the Community Reinvestment Act is partly responsible for the ongoing credit crisis. “CRA is not the culprit behind... [more...]
| 16/11/08 |
"Change" – Financial Services and the Credit Crisis Introduction to the 8th International Responsible Credit Conference London 2008: “Global banking in crisis! Now is the time for... |
Udo Reifner, Hamburg "Change" – Financial Services and the Credit Crisis Introduction to the 8th International Responsible Credit Conference London 2008: “Global banking in crisis! Now is the time for Responsible Credit” 13/14 November 2008 – New Connaught Rooms, London Two days before the leaders of the worlds' most... [more...]
| 13/11/08 |
MEDIA RELEASE: Consumers and lenders work together to restore confidence in credit markets |
Media release: the Centre for Economic & Social Inclusion Embargo: 00h01, Thursday 13 November 2008 CONSUMERS AND LENDERS WORK TOGETHER TO RESTORE CONFIDENCE IN CREDIT MARKETS Two hundred experts on credit and debt from over twenty-five countries will gather in London today to discuss how confidence can be restored to the world’s credit markets. The conference, to be... [more...]
| 07/11/08 |
NGO ACTION: "Bank to the Future” by BankTrack has followed ECRC’s example of putting forward some potential solutions to improve the responsibility of financial services. |
Madrid, November 6 2008 BankTrack today released "Bank to the Future: El Escorial Statement on Banks and the Financial Crisis" at a press conference in Madrid. The statement was drafted at BankTrack's annual strategy meeting, held in El Escorial de San Lorenzo earlier this week. It contains BankTracks´ current position on what is needed to deal with the unfolding... [more...]
| 05/11/08 |
MORTGAGE CRISIS – Report on the UK says Banks Must Restructure Mortgages to stop repossessions |
The following Press release and report have been published by ECRC partner Inclusion, main organizers of this year’s international responsible credit conference in London. The paper “Responding to the Mortgage Crisis - A Review of Recent Policy Announcements” written by Damon Gibbons and attached below is one of a short series of policy reviews provided to support... [more...]
| 30/10/08 |
Sachsen LB: How German's Public Banks got trapped into the Subprime Crisis - A Report by Bloomberg |
In Germany the media have a simple explanation for the credit crisis. American home owners took out too much debt for their extensive consumption needs. Banks offered this credit and sold it to investors in Europe especially the German public banks when they found out that more and more debtors defaulted and the credit became risky. German banks who trusted into the good... [more...]
| 21/10/08 |
REFORM AND NATIONALISATION OF BANKS – The need for a new EU action plan and why nationalisation of banks may be necessary in the short to medium term. |
SOME OBSERVATIONS ON FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE NEED FOR A NEW EU ACTION PLAN. (Extract from CEPS Commentary 21.10.08) ON THE PRUDENTIAL SIDE It is clear that the Basel ratios have not provided a clear indication of the true level of risks in banks. European supervisors have focused far too narrowly on one measure, the risk-weighted capital ratios as proposed by the... [more...]
| 14/10/08 |
Credit Crisis: Leaking Money Systems are Flooded - Is this sustainable? |
Money is an irrigation system. If it is distributed in well kept tubes, canals, guided by dams and digs it may create a flourishing landscape und fertile soil. If it is unregulated or if dams have been torn down we call it a flood or even a Tsunami which destroys landscapes. During the neo-liberal move of the 1990ties and beyond, the "new" political waves (neo-cons,... [more...]
| 10/10/08 |
Banking crisis, nationalisation of losses and the social sector – analysis by ECRC, NCRC, iff and others on the current banking crisis. An overview and an invitation to come to London... |
There is a lack of independent expertise in this credit crisis. There is a lack of long term perspectives in the present debate. iff and ECRC have tried to explain the crisis in many tv appearances in Germany during the last weeks and have provided easy to understand analysis and recommendations for German citizens. ECRC's central contribution is the Declaration on the... [more...]
| 10/09/08 |
EU MESSAGE: Why does the Commission refuse to look upstream and acknowledge the source of the crisis? Reminding industry to enhance transparency and urgently address risk management... |
Extracts from Charlie McCreevy’s (European Commissioner for Internal Market) speech on 9 September 2008 at the Transatlantic Corporate Governance Dialogue 2008. (Bold text inserted by ECRC) ONE YEAR AFTER THE SUB PRIME CRISIS SURFACED AND DEBTORS REMAIN AS VULNERABLE AS EVER AND THE FINANCIAL SECTOR IS STILL IN TURMOIL. We live in difficult times. We are now a year into... [more...]
| 30/06/08 |
Free Legal Advice Centres Ireland Press Release: FLAC (Free Legal Advice Centres) today backed calls by the European Coalition for Responsible Credit (ECRC) in its ‘Declaration on the... |
FLAC (Free Legal Advice Centres) today backed calls by the European Coalition for Responsible Credit (ECRC) in its ‘Declaration on the Credit Crisis’ for the EU and national governments to restore confidence and stability in the financial markets and to protect consumers from the consequences of the irresponsible lending. The declaration, from a coalition of... [more...]
| 04/06/08 |
CREDIT REGULATION – The Australian Government is consulting stakeholders with its suggested credit reform programme. This Green Paper tries to adapt certain laws which since 1993, date... |
Treasury website: GREEN PAPER ON FINANCIAL SERVICES AND CREDIT REFORM Date: Tuesday, 3 June 2008 ABSTRACT: Green Paper on Financial Services and Credit Reform – Improving, Simplifying and Standardising Financial Services and Credit Regulation The purpose of this Green Paper is to consult stakeholders about the following range of financial services and credit reform... [more...]
| 09/05/08 |
How the Credit Crisis came About - English Humour from TwoWolves on Youtube and Reponsible Credit News from DOOD |
A VIDEO ABOUT THE SUBPRIME CRISIS In a video which has already been viewd by close to two million Internet users two actors playing an investment banker and a journalist in a tv interview explain the credit crisis in the UK. This funny production starts with a finance company that sells houses ("just before they fall apart") to poor people in the US with a mortgage that... [more...]
| 15/04/08 |
US SUBPRIME LOANS – While our American partners from NCRC are heavily involved in commenting, mobilising, and proposing solutions to the current crisis, a recent analysis of bank data... |
US BANKS EXTEND PRICIER LOANS TO MINORITIES STUDY TUE APR 8, 2008 1:05AM ED WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The largest U.S. banks gave expensive subprime mortgages twice as often to minorities than whites last year, according to a study of bank loan data released by a fair lending activist group on Monday. The study, conducted by Inner City Press/Fair Finance Watch found that... [more...]
| 31/03/08 |
Plan to Overhaul Financial Industry Outlined |
Treasury Department Undersecretary Robert Steel outlines how the Bush administration's proposal to overhaul government oversight of the financial industry would broaden the Federal Reserve's risk assessment role and define consumer protection goals. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is proposing the most sweeping overhaul of regulations for the financial industry since the... [more...]
| 30/03/08 |
FOCUS: Paulson financial regulation reform plan already faces discounting |
Like the mortgage-backed securities behind the current market turmoil, the financial regulation reform plan Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is scheduled to officially present Monday morning has already been given a 'haircut' -- in this case in the form of substantive criticism and political discounting. The plan has been given tepid praise as a first step, while much of... [more...]
| 29/02/08 |
US BANK SUPERVISION: More data is key for the OCC. |
The Comptroller of the Currency will ensure that data be provided to them on all mortgage lending (and will include all home equity loans in the future as well).This will complement the data received on only subprime lending which will be collected via the HOPE NOW alliance. Banks have cooperated, and hopefully unnecessary foreclosures will be avoided as the OCC and other... [more...]
| 12/02/08 |
SUBPRIME CRISIS: US Government supervisory body wants to secure further Access to Credit for Middle Income Households |
The Comptroller of the Currency has urged Congress to restore the original scope of the public welfare investment authority of national banks. It raises questions such as should the Community Reinvestment Act be broadened to cover non-banks too, especially since they have been responsible for over half of subprime mortgages leading to the crisis. One argument is that... [more...]
| 20/12/07 |
EU Commission on the Reasons of the Subprime Crisis: Irresponsible Borrowing and Intransparent MBS Markets |
In its FinFocus Infoletter No 4 2007 addressed especially to a broad audience and issued on December 2007 the European Commission gives its view of the subprime mortgage crisis. FIN-FOCUS Newsletter "US sub-prime mortgage crisis – does it affect Europe? How did the crisis start? The sub-prime mortgage financial crisis began in the United States in 2006. Loans were... [more...]
| 26/10/07 |
The End of Wild West Mortgage Lending in the USA? - The American Congress discusses a bill to set national standards for subprime mortgages comparable to federal banking agency... |
LENDING WITHOUT BANK SUPERVISION LEADS TO USURY The American Congress draws the first conclusions from the mortgage and banking crisis. Unlike many in Europe who still publish the tale that consumers irresponsibly borrowing more money than they could afford creating the present crisis the American Congress seems to follow the thesis that irresponsible lending practices... [more...]
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