Protecting the Most Vulnerable in Consumer Credit Transactions

There are two key ways in which the Australian Uniform Consumer Credit Code seeks to protect consumers in relation to consumer credit transactions. The first is by means of disclosure regulation where information is required to be disclosed to the consumer before the credit contract is entered into and the second is by way of “safety net” provisions, where contracts can be varied or set aside in the event of hardship, a finding that the transaction was unjust, or a finding of unconscionable fees or charges. This article explores the limitations of both of these means of protection, particularly in the case of vulnerable, low-income consumers. In order to highlight the inadequacies of these forms of consumer protection and the need for regulatory reform, we draw on interviews conducted with 30 low-income consumers who had recently signed a credit contract, focusing on their understanding of information disclosed in the contract, as well as their responses to hypothetical unfair terms and their understanding of their rights, for example in the event of an unjust transaction. These interviews were conducted as part of a joint research project between Brotherhood of St Laurence and Griffith University’s Centre for Credit and Consumer Law, funded by Consumer Affairs Victoria.

Small Business Credit Scoring and Credit Availability*

U.S. commercial banks are increasingly using small business credit‐scoring models to underwrite small business credits. The paper discusses this lending technology, evaluates the research findings on the effects of this technology on small business credit availability, and links these findings to a number of research and policy issues.     

黑龙江省农村信用社发展小额诚信贷款问题的研究

目前,黑龙江省农村信用社的发展还处于较低水平,发展过程还存在诸多问题.农村信用社总体上信贷规模小,资金供给不足;风险防范意识薄弱,缺乏市场竞争思想;产权归属不明,内部管理混乱.应借鉴国内发达省市经验,开展金融产品和服务创新,扩大存、贷款规模;以市场为导向,以赢利为目标,以利率为杠杆,减轻市场风险,维持农信社的持续经营;加快变革农村信用社的产权制度,明晰产权归属,完善法人治理结构;有效建立信用评级组织,开展政策性保险,以多渠道防范小额信贷的信用风险.     

近代浙商的三大转变与启示

在中国近代社会制度变迁中,浙商顺时而为,成功实现了由旧式金融业向近代新兴金融业的转变、传统商业资本向近代产业资本的转变、旧式商帮到近代企业家群体的转变。浙商的三大转变表明,在社会转型、制度转变的特殊时期,商人必须自我超越与突破发展,金融资本与产业资本必须实现良性互动,审时度势大胆进军新兴产业,才能保持持续发展的活力。     

中小企业信贷、银行规模与征信服务模式

建立完善的中小企业征信体系是解决银企之间信息不对称的有效途径。本文以第三方征信机构的服务模式为研究视角,构建征信机构、商业银行与中小企业三方之间的动态博弈模型,讨论第三方征信服务的作用及不同政策目标下征信机构的运行模式选择问题。结果表明:(1)引入征信机构服务会提高中小企业信贷市场的效率——市场贷款利率降低、信贷发放总量增加,但征信机构不同服务模式对信贷市场效率的影响程度不同。(2)征信机构最优的服务模式因不同政策目标而异,在征信机构利润最大化目标下,其仅向中小银行提供信用信息;在借款企业剩余最大化目标下,将同时向大型银行和中小银行提供信用信息;在社会福利最大化目标下,将根据银行贷款门槛的差异程度而定。现阶段我国征信体系建设的政策目标是借款企业剩余最大化和社会福利最大化,征信机构应选择第三种即向所有银行都开放有偿信息服务;未来随着征信服务业的成熟、市场的发展,民营征信机构成为体系的主体,利润最大化将成为主要政策目标,征信机构可采取第三种即仅向中小银行提供中小企业信用信息。     

New Ventures and their Credit Terms

Using UK bank data for 466 new venture loan applications, we explore the determinants of interest margin, the sanctioning decision and the amount borrowed when these factors are considered simultaneously. Collateral levels greatly influence the size of credits to new ventures, a finding consistent with existing work on firm foundation rates and assets (Black et al., Economic Journal 106, 60–75, 1996; de Meza and Webb, The Economic Journal 109, 153–163, 1999; Evans and Jovanovic, Journal of Political Economy 97(4), 808–827, 1989; Holtz-Eakin et al., 1994). Consistent with the RAND Journal of Economics 25, 334–347, Diversionary Models of debt, firms with larger credits enjoy discounted interest margins even when we have controlled for firm size.     

Loan Officer Turnover and Credit Availability for Small Firms

This paper presents empirical evidence on the role loan officers play in facilitating small firm access to commercial bank loans. If loan officers use soft information (for example, assessments of character, information from customers and suppliers) to make lending decisions that would not otherwise be made on the basis of hard information (for example, tax returns or financial statements), then, frequent turnover in loan officers should be associated with an adverse effect on credit availability. This relationship is confirmed empirically using survey data of U.S. small firms in 1995 and 2001, where loan officer turnover is positively related to the turndown rate on the most recent loan application. Although loan officer turnover could be influenced by the turndown rate (for example, an owner changes banks and gets a new loan officer as a result of a recent turndown), its negative effect on credit availability persists under several different tests.     

英国中小公司区分立法解读及启示

英国公司法正在进行150年来最重要的一次修改,其中最突出的修改是“首先考虑小公司”:公司法所作的制度安排应围绕小公司来展开,对大公司采取例外适用,在决策程序、资本制度、公司治理等方面实行大小公司区分立法。在我国的公司法研究中,也一直存在过分关注股份有限公司等大公司,忽视有限责任公司等中小公司的情况,表现在立法上则忽视二者的差异,制度混同情况比较突出,后者的制度设计依附于前者,已不适应中小企业的发展。是否公开募集资本是大小公司制度差异的根源,我们应借鉴英国公司法的修改,从大小公司制度差异的角度完善我国公司立法。     

The Creation and Growth of Small Business Service Firms in Post-Industrial Britain

Since 1980, the United Kingdom has experienced a dramatic growth in firms and employment in information-intensive business services, such as management consultancy and market research. This article reports the results of the first substantial nation-wide investigation into the nature and causes of small professional business service firm growth in Britain, undertaken in 1991. It reveals marked differences in the characteristics, markets and competitive requirements of such firms, compared with small manufacturing firms. The demand for their services comes predominantly from large companies, and is more focussed on financial and other services and government. But small firms are also making increasing use of business services. Specialised expertise, reputation and educational and professional qualifications are essential prerequisites for the establishment of new business service firms. Their success is also being enhanced by increasing use of informal networking, collaborative partnerships, and subcontracting.     

我国农村小额信用贷款问题和对策

当前,我国现阶段农村小额信用贷款存在的问题,主要体现在农村金融信用环境差,农村小额信用贷款的风险多元化,农民还贷能力低,农村小额信用贷款期限和额度不合理,银行的内控机制不完善等方面。政府应从政策上重视农村小额信用贷款;积极引导农民的贷款投资方向,降低坏账率;制定优惠政策;增加贷款的透明度,从而切实解决农村小额贷款存在的问题。推动农村经济的发展。     

论清代前期民间商业信用的特点

中国封建社会商品经济在清前期发展到最高峰,民间商业信用也得到前所未有的发展。清代前期民间商业信用有五个特点:商业信用的广泛性与多样性;牙行在商业信用中的突出作用;对产品的预买与定买;商业信用与高利贷信用开始有机结合;商业信用出现票据化趋势。     

An Exploration of Entrepreneurial Activity among Asian Small Businesses in Britain

This paper investigates various aspects of Asian entrepreneurship based on a survey of small Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi businesses in Britain. It analyses the motives for business entry, the choice of initial business, the factors that influence business success and the validity of treating Asian businesses as a homogeneous group. It cannot support the hypothesis that Asians were pushed into self-employment in order to avoid unemployment. The nature of entrepreneurial entry, predominantly through small retail businesses, depends largely on the access to informal, rather than formal, sources of capital and information or advice as well as on the entrant's previous experience. Business success appears to be closely related both to the share of personal capital invested at start-up and to the entrepreneur's educational qualifications. The evidence suggests that the motives for business entry differ among the three Asian communities studied although that does not seem to have a lasting effect on their business success. The predisposition of many well educated Asian migrants towards establishing businesses with their own capital in an unfamiliar environment illustrates their entrepreneurial spirit. The paper points to the potential role of banks and government agencies in encouraging the creation of many more such small businesses in Britain.     

Small Business Credit Scoring and Its Pitfalls: Evidence from Japan

This paper studies the Japanese credit scoring market using data on 2,000 small and medium‐sized enterprises and a small business credit scoring (SBCS) model widely used in the market. After constructing a model for determining a bank's profit maximization, some simulation exercises are conducted, and pitfalls of lending based on SBCS are indicated. The simulation results suggest that the reason why SBCS loan losses occur would be the combination of adverse selection and window‐dressing problems. In addition, omitted variable bias and transparency of financial statements are important.     

试论中小企业信贷中的银行信贷基准问题

中小企业信贷融资难问题 ,其解决方法通常是以增设中小金融机构或为中小企业提供担保来增加中小企业的资金可获程度 ,即采用“资金可获型战略”。本文希望通过对银行建立以信用为核心的信贷基准的探讨 ,回归中小企业信贷融资基础 ,即逐步提高中小企业以信用为基础的融资可获程度 ,从而使中小企业融资战略转换为“信用可获型”。     

中小企业信用风险管理机制探析

制约我国中小企业发展的一个重要因素就是企业内部信用管理水平低,抗风险能力弱。而中小企业出现信用风险的主要原因在于其缺乏必要的信用风险管理机制。要提高中小企业内部信用风险管理水平,必须在设立独立的信用机构的基础上．重点建立和完善前期的资信调查和评估机制、中期的债权保障机制和后期的应收账款管理机制、业绩评价机制。     

中小企业信用缺失研究现状评述

国外对中小企业信用缺失的研究较为成熟,而国内学者大多是在财政、金融政策和法律法规、行业管理、中小企业的经济活动等方面进行政策建议型研究.本文认为,我国中小企业中失信者与诚信者并存,银行或企业应加以区别对待;负偾经营、资本市场优先、低成本扩张等理论导致中小企业信用行为扭曲,从而引起整个社会信用关系的恶化;要通过明晰产权关系,规范政府行为,制定连续稳定的政策来改善信用缺失问题;网络时代的到来加强了中小企业信用市场的透明度,为中小企业信用缺失问题的解决提供了载体等等.     

Identity Theft Legislation: The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 and the Road Not Taken

This article provides a review of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA) as it relates to the growing problem of identity theft. The article also examines other identity theft‐related proposed legislation from the 108th Congress and analyzes the effectiveness of the proposed measures. The authors conclude that FACTA represents an important step toward reducing the incidence of identity theft as well as ameliorating the damage that it causes. However, unless and until Congress addresses the extensive use and distribution of Social Security numbers and the safeguarding of data, identity theft is likely to continue to wreak financial and social havoc.     

完善中小企业信用担保的实践与思考

我国在中小企业信用担保实践中存在着诸多方面的问题,制约了担保作用的有效发挥,并严重威胁到担保组织自身发展的可持续性。为此,有针对性地提出完善中小企业信用担保的对策,合理构建我国中小企业信用担保体系,扶持和促进中小企业发展是相当紧迫的。