Consumer debt in Australia: why banks will not turn their backs on profit

Five years into the 21st century and consumer debt levels in Australia are still escalating. Simultaneously, there is concern that an increasing number of consumers may be unable to meet their future financial commitments and also mounting alarm at the relative ease with which the majority of consumers can access additional credit facilities. At the same time, credit providers are avidly seeking greater profits by enticing consumers to borrow more and more. Against this background, the issue of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the Australian consumer credit industry is discussed. The application of strategic stakeholder management theory to the activities of a specific class of lender – banks – is then discussed. The aim is to better understand why the contemporary demands of CSR will not lead banks to undertake a more vigilant approach to consumer lending advocated by consumer groups who, witnessing the impact of the growing level of consumer indebtedness on a number of consumers, are calling for more responsible lending practices. The opportunity to contribute to debate aimed at alleviating the risk of growing consumer indebtedness is highlighted. The paper concludes with an acknowledgement that, without intervention, factors such as competition in the free market for consumer credit, the demands of shareholders for profits, and consumers’ own folly in demanding immediate gratification and readily accepting additional credit as a means of financing their consumption, ensure that consumer debt levels will continue to rise.     

Consumer bankruptcy in Utah (USA): who files and why?

This study examined consumer debtors who filed for bankruptcy and their reasons for filing in Utah, the U.S. state that ranked first in household filing rate in 2002–2004 and consistently ranks in the top ten of the 50 states. The purpose of the study was to determine the demographic characteristics of debtors and reasons for filing. Data were collected during 2004–2005 via survey from 508 debtors. The debtors reported employment problems, medical expenses, divorce or other family problems, as well as trouble managing their finances and overuse of credit cards. More than half of the debtors owed medical providers. Debtors were more likely to report a reduction in income than job loss. Self‐employed persons were over represented. Respondent debtors are less educated, less likely to be married and less likely to own a home compared with Utahns and other Americans. Contrary to expectations, debtor households were smaller than the state average, which may be due to the young age of debtors. Results suggest that in order to reduce the bankruptcy rate in Utah, consumer educators should target renters, adults with less than a college education, divorcing persons and small business owners. Utah's mandate for a personal finance graduation requirement should be implemented early in the secondary school curriculum.     

Keeping Up With the Joneses: Analyzing the Effect of Income Inequality on Consumer Borrowing

Household debt relative to disposable income increased from 60% in 1980 to 104% at the end of 2003. ‘Buying on credit’ has become so popular that an increasing number of firms generate more profit from financing than from selling their products. In this paper, we show that rising income inequality has substantially contributed to increased consumer borrowing. Income inequality affects all components of total household debt, but the impact is strongest on non-revolving debt (installment loans), which is used to finance the purchase of consumer durables. We argue and provide evidence that the income inequality effect on consumer borrowing is a result of conspicuous consumption. Rising income inequality has forced households with smaller income gains to use debt to keep up their consumption level relative to households with larger income gains.JEL Classification: D12, G29, J31, M30     

消费信用与消费者破产研究

消费信用与消费者破产之间存在密切的联系。进入消费者破产程序的消费者必然有无法偿还的债务,而消费者只有接受了消费信用,才可能成为债务人,因此,消费信用是消费者破产的根本原因。消费信用越容易获得,消费者过度负债的可能性就越高,相应地,消费者对宽松的消费者破产制度的需求就越强烈。从消费市场的繁荣程度和消费者破产数量的关系来看,二者是成正比关系的。消费者破产制度作为消费信用的回收制度将影响消费信用的供给与需求,促进信用体系的建设。消费信用在我国进入快速发展时代,从控制社会危机的角度来看,消费者破产制度的建立已经迫在眉睫。     

Consumer attitudes towards debt in an islamic country: managing a conflict between religious tradition and modernity?

Saudi Arabia is an important country in the Islamic world, and Islam prohibits the payment and receipt of interest, a key component of modern commercial bank loans. Yet the levels of commercial bank lending in the country for private non‐commercial purposes has been rising sharply for the past decade. This study seeks an explanation for this increase by examining the nature of consumer attitudes towards debt in the country, and whether the increasing levels of consumer debt can be explained by existing positive debt attitudes. Using data from a convenience sample of consumers in the major cities of the country, the study finds general debt attitudes to be surprisingly positive, though tempered by the consumption purpose for which the debt is acquired. However, the positive attitudes are unrelated to actual debt acquisition. Rather, socio‐demographic differences in attitudes are similar to those reported in the literature. Attitudes are generally more positive among young, highly educated Saudi males than other socio‐demographic groups. This suggests a possible struggle to manage a conflict between the Islamic prohibition of interest‐based borrowing and demands of the modern economy.     

关于我国商业银行消费信贷业务发展的思考

我国商业银行消费信贷业务的风险包括信用风险、流动性风险、管理风险、政策风险。消费信贷业务发展存在从业人员整体素质不高,信用制度不健全,缺乏有效的担保制度,消费贷款手续繁琐、环节过多等问题。发展我国商业银行消费信贷业务应加强对从业人员的培训;不断完善个人信用制度和担保制度;简化贷款手续、减少审批环节;大力发展农村消费信贷。     

地方政府债务扩张与银行信贷风险

国际金融危机后实施的“金融救市”政策是导致地方政府债务迅速扩张的外部因素,地方政府债务的迅速扩张又反过来加剧了银行的信贷风险,为金融体系的不稳定性埋下隐患.实证研究发现,金融危机后实施的救市政策构成了商业银行“对政府债权”的显著差异与结构突变;商业银行“对政府债权”对银行的不良贷款率和存贷比显著正相关.     

消费信贷对经济增长的影响研究 ——以青海为例

近年来,我国消费信贷的规模不断扩大,基于鼓励消费的独特作用,消费信贷已成为促进我国经济增长的重要手段.本文利用青海省1995—2018年的时间序列数据,包括消费信贷余额与GDP,使用VAR模型来论证消费信贷与经济增长之间的关系.通过实证分析表明,青海省消费信贷的发展确实会促进经济增长,但由于诸多因素的存在,消费信贷对经...     

搜寻成本与信誉租金对厂商定价的影响

信息的非对称性导致消费者在购物时要进行搜寻。搜寻是有代价的经济活动 ;在搜寻中花费的精力、人力、金钱、时间的机会成本构成搜寻成本。由于搜寻成本的存在消费者在购物时往往放弃搜寻 ,直接到信誉好的商店高价购物 ,以确保商品的效用。信誉度高而给产品定出高价从中获得的经济利润叫做信誉租金。搜寻成本与信誉租金存在因果关系。他们使厂商面临的需求曲线向下倾斜 ,使厂商给自己的产品定高价 ,长期均衡在经济利润上。     

我国消费信贷发展前景分析——基于消费信贷结构发展的视角

本文在总结我国消费信贷发展现状的基础上,借鉴国外成熟市场发展经验,基于消费信贷结构发展视角,从消费信贷供给机构、期限结构以及地域分布三个方面分析我国消费信贷发展前景。在经历了初期的迅猛发展之后,我国消费信贷已进入一个较为稳定的快速增长期,未来市场发展空间大,消费信贷结构趋于成熟。     

消费者信用评级指标体系的研究

消费者信用是指个体消费者为购买产品或服务而使用的信用,以消费者信用评级指标体系设计为原则,建立消费者信用评级指标体系,消费者各个信用评级指标体系,不同程度影响的消费者信用能力、潜力和认可度。     

Dark financial profile leading to debt traps – A theoretical framework

This paper proposes a theoretical framework in an attempt to better explain the behaviours of some consumers of financial products during market crises. We review the established notions of irrationality and deception, and then add the construct of disconnection from financial needs, goals and preferences. We propone that these three concepts, respectively, cognitive, behavioural and emotional in nature, create a dark financial profile (DFP) by which these consumers unwittingly build debt. We use bibliometrics to highlight the current gap in the scholarly domains of interest and provide market examples of how the DFP likely deploys in the marketplace. This is the first article to use disconnection in such a context, and to improve the understanding of consumer behaviours in regard to disconnection, irrationality, deception and debt. Thus, we enrich the literature on debt, which has at times ignored the role of the combination of these constructs. We investigate avenues of research for developing further our emerging framework, especially on the notion of disconnection, and suggest that this effort may assist in preparing effective marketing of financial education programs and improving lending practices.     

企业生命周期、债务融资与企业绩效——来自我国制造业上市公司的经验证据

基于企业生命周期视角,利用我国制造业上市公司2007年至2012年的数据,分别研究债务总体水平、债务期限结构和债务来源结构在企业生命周期的不同阶段对企业绩效的影响。研究结果表明:债务总体水平、短期借款与长期负债对企业绩效的影响在整个生命周期都呈现负相关关系,但影响程度在不同的阶段存在差异。在企业整个生命周期内,短期借款对企业绩效的负效应都强于长期负债。另外在企业生命周期的各个阶段,银行借款均对企业绩效产生负效应,商业信用仅在衰退期对企业绩效产生了正效应,在其他两个阶段均为负效应。     

我国消费信用现状及存在问题研究

近些年,随着我国各种消费信用业务的迅速发展,消费信用规模不断扩大,在消费者方面、商业银行和信用机构方面以及社会环境方面存在的发展障碍逐渐显露出来,而银行信贷管理中的制度缺陷、与消费贷款相关的法律不健全、市场操作的不安全性等问题亦进一步凸显。我国应加快构建并不断完善消费信用体系,努力提升公民的消费信用意识,强化法律与政府的作用,实施消费信用保证保险制度,以促使我国国民经济健康全面发展。     

中国居民消费的特点、影响因素以及发展趋势分析

本文采用西方相关文献分析消费问题,首先讨论中国居民的消费概况,然后用凯恩斯理论分析中国人高储蓄率、低消费率的原因,探讨消费信贷在中国的发展,并且对中国私人消费的发展趋势作出客观预测。