Critically Contemporary International Approaches - Essay Example

?Discuss Critically Contemporary International Approaches (e.g. World Bank, Financial Stability Board) to Consumer Credit Regulation Table of Contents Introduction 3 Defining Consumer Credit Regulation 5 Literature Study of Contemporary International Approach 7 World Bank 10 Financial Stability Board 13 Critical Evaluation 16 Great Britain: Parliament: House of Lords: European Union Committee, Consumer Credit in the European Union: Harmonisation and Consumer Protection; 36th Report of Session 2005-06 (The Stationery Office, 2006 pp. 1-25). 17 Conclusions and Recommendations 18 References 20 Bibliography 29 Introduction Over the recent past decades, many reforms have been made in the paradigm of consumer credit laws around the world, such as the UK, Canada, Australia, the US and South Africa owing to the continually rising complexities witnessed in the modern business environment. This reform has been accounted due to the growth in the consumer credits and rise in the numbers of consumer credit institutions1. Contextually, consumer credit is considered as a key driver of economic growth as it is used for the payment of services holding a major proportion of the industrial contribution obtained by any economy in the modern world2. In a general sense, consumer credit is that commodity, which is produced by the private sectors and then sold to the consumers. These regulations are fixed for the sale, available in a wide range of varieties. The most commonly observed regulations in the consumer credit are the price and the interest rates. The information and disclosure regulations are also persistent regarding the debt collection aspects in a particular country, also seemed to be an important aspect to the regulators and legislators as well3. In a recent affair, the European Commission (EC) has denoted the significant role of consumer credit in the growth of national economy and also the well being of the consumers and thus, it is seeking to adopt the credit regulation across the country4. The government has further planned to implement the policy of credit regulation across the country so as to regulate strong credit markets all over the nation along with the minimisation of the risk of debt. The strategic approach and aim of adopting the consumer credit regulation along with the objective further differs from one state to another. It can be well understood with the example of both Germany and France, which possess rates at a lower level ceiling along with lower legal maximums. Illustratively, the most stringently market based approach has been adopted by the UK with no rates of ceiling5. The government of the UK had introduced Consumer Credit Act 1974 in its constitution, which focuses on the protection of the consumers and control of traders along with taking due measures to implement the provisions of credit being regulated by the Director General of Fair Trading6. In this essay, the major concern has been drawn with the attention towards the critical evaluation of the contemporary international approaches to the consumer credit regulation. The essay has described the concept of consumer credit regulations in respect of the practical case study referrals of World Bank and Financial Stability Board. Defining Consumer Credit Regulation As per the subsidiary legislation of the UK in 2010, the ‘consumer credit regulation’ has been broken into words, viz. Customers and Credit, for drawing a clear understanding of the term. In accordance, consumer is a person who is responding to the trade or business under the regulations of the transaction7. On the other hand, the creditor is that person who has made a commitment to grant credits for performing trade and business. Thus, the consumer credit regulation implies the act that has been developed by the government body for the protection of the consumer and the creditor performing a trade or business. One of the useful terms that are usually used in the definition of consumer credit regulation is the credit agreement. It is that contract between the consumer and creditor whereby the creditor promises to grant the consumer with credit in the form of loan or any other kind of financial assistance8. This contract does not allow for provision, wherein the consumer is provided with the supply of goods and/or services as they continue to pay back the creditors with the monthly instalments9. From the above understanding concerning the meaning of consumer credit regulation, it is quite explicit that the act was established for the betterment of the consumers as well as the creditors involved in the trade and business with credit fund. It is generally regulated by the Director General of Fair Trading and also the concerned authority is assigned with the number of responsibilities such as monitoring the licensing system of the Act that was developed for the protection of consumer credit regulation. Correspondingly, it is stated to be the major responsibility of the Director General to look after the justified regulation of the consumer credit in regards to the national interest and also the interest of both the parties involved in the credit act i.e. the creditors and consumers10. The Director General is also assigned with the duty of ensuring that the acts and regulations made under the policy of consumer credit is being enforced and maintained by every participant involved in trade and also those who provide the facility of credit to the consumers. The consumer credit regulation is set on certain criteria such as the act developed under the policy, which do not regulate any consumer credit agreement wherein the creditor is either a local authority or any kind of body, as described under particular defined provisions. Notably, these are few of the conditions, which define the contents of the consumer credit regulation in the UK, as defined under the Consumer Credit Act of 1974 developed within the British Constitution11. Different countries have proposed several laws under the consumer credit regulation so that both the creditors and consumers are benefited and protected by the law and successful conduction of the trade and business is carried along with the increase of the national economy12. Literature Study of Contemporary International Approach In the above mentioned section, it has been made clear that the consumer credit regulation has been imposed by different governmental bodies around the world in their national legal contexts. However, the similarity in the regulations of the act by the different countries is that it serves the betterment of both the consumers and creditors involved in the trade, addressing a common interest of raising the national economy strengths. The consumer credit regulation is also regarded as the instrument of law organised with an aim of achieving the objectives of a fair consumer market value. This regulatory point of view removes the differences existing between the traditional laws and creates a new set of rule, which emphasizes the non-legal techniques of regulating consumer benefits in the market13. Contextually, reforms regarding the consumer credit have been frequently regulated in the various countries of the world. The different models that have been laid down by the government are thus deemed as subjected to the solution of the consumer credit issues in the markets. The rise of the credit markets and newer forms of credit system in the market also signifies that the rules are either not working or ineffective and thus, reforms are necessary in that case14. The rise of the inter-country trade and commerce is also the other reason for the evolution of the system. Along with the system of inter-country trade and commerce, the consumers and creditors, both began to obtain a deeper understanding of the regulations that are highly required for the harmonization of the business efforts and assigning the consumer with certain rights so that they can run their business across the borders with legal acceptance and harmony. According to Schwarz (2011), it was observed that the majority of the countries have introduced the system of instalment purchase by the consumers in order to raise their sales volume. This system is also regarded as the sale done on credit in abidance with certain laid criteria as in the case of the US15. The sales on credit also involve a non-payment risk and on the other side, the creditor must verify the credit worthiness of the consumer in order to avoid the risk of bad debt16. Schwarz (2011) named this system of identification of the defaulted risk that is involved in the instalment purchase system as credit scoring. The credit scoring is the statistical approach of measuring the chances of the consumers falling under the defaulted risk of credit17. In a recent report presented by the Department of Business Innovation and Skill of the United Kingdom (2011), it was observed that the UK government have been planning for the reforms to be made in the consumer credit framework since 2010. Also, the other attractive part of the planning is that the government seems to transfer the responsibility of consumer credit regulations from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to the Consumer Protection and Markets Authority (CPMA), which was later renamed as Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The UK government took this decision of transferring the responsibilities to the FCA in consideration to the numerous comments from the industries and the consumers themselves. The transfer of responsibility of consumer credit was further carried in order to bring about a change in the trend persisting within the license holders who are not registered under the Financial Services Authority. The majority of the industry respondents of the UK had also demanded the government for bringing rationality in the reforms of Consumer Credit Regulation18. This decision of the government regarding the reforms to be made in the consumer credit regulation was accepted globally as an international approach and also gained high remarks from the national consumers as well as the numerous industry respondents who carried cross border trade and business19. As per McBride (n.d.), consumer credit is one of the most complex and risky transactions that involves both the consumers and creditors as it possess many informal limitations usually faced by the consumers. McBride (n.d.) also states that the economic and credit conditions have changed a lot due to the rise of debt and credit transactions in different countries of the world. In the present business environment, there is a high need of regulatory framework for the borrowing and lending processes taking place between the customers and the creditors20. McBride (n.d.) recommends that the newly formed regulation of consumer credit must be applicable to all kinds of borrowings, such as loan and sale credit and also a detailed disclosure obligation upon lenders must be levied as per the framework21. One of the reasons for the need of reforms in the consumer credit sector is that the traditional forms of regulations tend to create a certain degree of discrimination between the credit transactions for commercial purpose and business purpose22. Practical Case Study Referrals World Bank World Bank has immense contribution to the international approaches in protecting consumer interests with the implementation of effective credit regulation programs. It is worth mentioning in this context that World Bank categorises the consumer credit regulations under its Consumer Protection Laws and Regulations as applicable in the banking industry23. Since the year 2005, World Bank has been involved in conducting research in various countries regarding their practiced legal guidelines for financial practices and consumer protection when serving them with credit facilities. When considering the related operations of World Bank, it is also considered as one of the most valuable adopters of consumer protection laws in the world. World Bank runs its business with a belief that commitment towards the treatment of customers is a vital element that will be required for the creation of long term relationship with the customers on the basis of trust as a result of transparency maintained in the product/service delivery process. Consumer protection is also an organizational objective, which raises the public confidence and therefore offers a tool in controlling the risk of inflation within the economy as has been defined by the World Bank while implementing its international approaches in this context24. World Bank stated that there must be a degree of mutual trust existing between the bank and its customers emphasising the principles of customer awareness. In this regard, the international organisation has been of the view that with due time, customer awareness becomes insufficient. Additionally, the traditional international approaches, to secure consumer interests when delivering credit facilities and solving of resolutions amid the customers, have become time-consuming and unproductive. Thus, to handle the rising problems in today’s business context, concerning consumer protection, it adopted certain practices under the consumer financial protection regime, as its contemporary international approaches, in terms of a measure for providing the customers with assurance to safeguard their interests from the malpractices often practiced by the marketers. The law provides a clear definition of the significance of the private consumers and their rights for availing the facilities of consumer protection regarding the banking products and services25. Correspondingly, World Bank had classified few of its departments, assigned with the task of introducing an effectual administration for consumer protection while offering them the intended credit facilities. Accordingly, when considering the contemporary international approaches taken by World Bank, it can be observed that with the adoption of the Consumer Protection Act, the regulatory body has been successful in developing a greater degree of cooperation between the customers and also assuring an effective implementation of the consumer credit regulation26. Furthermore, World Bank had laid down certain code of laws for the implementation of consumer protection when delivering services on credit basis. The bank developed its code of conduct based on the principles, in accordance to the consumer protection and arranged for an effective regulatory department, which could ensure that all the customers and the bank itself is able to derive the benefit out of the consumer credit purchases, thereby maintaining a parity between the customers’ values and interests and organisational objectives. The bank not only limited its responsibility by forming code of conduct but also circulated this code to its customers through suitable channels in order to maintain transparency in its credit services delivery processes and therefore, augment its sustainability prospects27. Thus, with the implementation of the codes of consumer protection, World Bank has been successful in handling the conflicts with its customers and promoting long term banking relation with them through credit services. It has also formed a better provision of regulation in the borrowing and lending processes within the bank28. Financial Stability Board In its recent endeavours, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) has made a move towards the development of consumer credit protection on the request of the G2029. After the occurrences of various global financial crises, many of the finance institutions began to put special efforts on the development of consumer credit. G20 had therefore suggested FSB that if it is interested in developing its financial regulations, especially with regards to consumer protection within the organization, it must emphasize on the introduction of policies and regulations regarding the cooperation of the various actions of consumer protection. In accordance to the request, FSB started developing regulations of consumer protection through the application of international contemporary approaches to manage consumer credit regulations. In the initial stages, FSB quoted that consumer protection is not anything that defends its customers from wrong decision but emphasizes on the awareness that they are able to make informed decision. Apart from this, FSB stated that consumer protection must emphasize on three basic elements i.e. safeguarding customers from unsafe market practices, improving the existing financial markets so that the customers are protected from unsafe practices and services and bringing change in the drivers of market behaviour across the supply chain of service delivery. According to FSB, one of the most effective ways to practice the instrument of consumer protection is product intrusion. Product intrusion comprises of regulation of terms and conditions of consumer protection and emphasises control of market and endorsement30. The protection of financial customers has therefore become an integral part of public policy of FSB’s financial structure. In accordance, FSB’s contemporary international approaches law also provided the customer protection regulatory bodies with a considerable power so that equal and justified policies can be developed for the promotion of consumer protection and required accomplishment of financial protection as well. Correspondingly, FSB states that one of the most common aspects of consumer protection structure is the transparency and revelation31. Apart from this, equal treatment to all its customers and instruments for resolving of disputes of the customer is also considered as quite significant by the FSB32. It is worth mentioning in this context that in the contemporary era, few of the members of the FSB were coming through numerous challenges due to the changes in inter-country policies of foreign consumer credit, which made the traditional international approaches inapplicable in the post-modern context of business. The inter-country policy of consumer credit required the members of FSB to be licensed under the consumer credit regulation of that country in which it was performing its trade and commerce. Taking into account such scenario, FSB decided to implement a contemporary framework, which contains the policy stating that the local consumers will always be protected irrespective of its nationality and domiciliation of customer credit provision. Along with this regulation, FSB also suggested that there must be uniformity in the licensing procedure and law of consumer credit in all over the world. In absence of the same, FSB further argued that confusions may be caused regarding the international contemporary framework of the consumer credit regulation33. It can be made clearer with the help of an example of Saudi Arabia, where foreign companies do not fall under the provision of consumer protection regulations. Due to this policy of Saudi Arabia, Canada and the UK were the countries, which were affected the most from the framework. If the similar system as in Saudi Arabia remains, then not only Canada and the UK will be affected, but the other countries might not also get into international trade and commerce as they are not liable to get the benefits of consumer credit as per the local law of Saudi Arabia34. Hence, there is a greater need of uniformity in the regulation of consumer credit across the countries of the world when considering the international contemporary approaches taken by the FSB in managing customer credit services. Critical Evaluation From the literature findings based on the consumer credit regulation, it has been observed that the various countries of the world have set their own framework for the protection of consumers under the commercial regimes, which although acquaints the nations with greater control in managing their national economic stability, it also raises conflicts and complex situations when considering the variances observed in the international contemporary approaches. Illustratively, the UK had regulated Consumer Credit Act 1974, which was governed by the Director General of Fair Trading and provided the customers with protection against the bad debt, which might arise in due course of borrowing and lending. But later, the government decided to transfer the responsibility to Consumer Protection and Markets Authority (CPMA) for bringing about reforms and to provide the domestic as well as the foreign customers with the benefits of consumer protection regulation. The regulation of consumer credit was transferred as the traditional regulation governed by the Fair Trading deciphered a certain degree of discrimination between the credit transaction of commercial and business purpose. Schwarz (2011) stated in this regard that many of the business organizations had begun the system of instalment purchase in order to raise the sales volume of the company in the global periphery. This kind of transaction possesses defaulted risk of non-payment of credit and bad debts to the companies. Thus, Schwarz (2011) recommends that in the case of consumer credit, changes are to be introduced for the avoidance of risk and also maintaining the creditworthiness in between the consumer and the creditor. Accordingly, it was found that the Consumer Credit Act 1974, as laid by the UK government, regulates and protects the interests of consumers when obtaining credit services and that of the marketers to when getting involved in the same process. The act further covers other areas of law, such as credit agreements and calculation of annual percentage rate (APR)35. To be noted, the World Bank and the FSB have been the major beneficiaries of the consumer credit regulation and also proposed a newer international approach for the regulation of consumer protection. FSB had also suggested for the reforms to be made in the context of providing consumer protection to the foreign creditors. It says that for the effective implementation of consumer protection all over the world, product intrusion must be introduced, so that a certain degree of uniformity can be maintained in the regulations practiced with respect to the consumer interest and marketers’ obligations to maintain transparency throughout the credit services facilities and subsequently, ensure that endorsement is carried with complete justice and fairness36. In this similar context, the government of the various countries have been taking a keen interest in the improvement of the consumer credit regulation for managing the loan and the commercial debt in a transparent manner. Fundamentally, it can be affirmed that consumer credit regulation serves for the provision of preserving the people from being involved into unsound level of bad debt, assuring that the lenders are delivering fair treatment to all its customers and supporting people’s right to use the facility of credit37;38. Hence, from the above evaluation it has been determined that consumer protection is a framework which provides the consumers as well as creditors with the provision of fair and equal business transaction. Due to this usefulness and also as a measure for developing long term relationship with their loyal customers, international organizations such as the World Bank and the FSB have adopted this regulation as one of their most important elements39. Conclusions and Recommendations The reformation of consumer credit regulation can be widely observed to be utilised by the global countries in order to obtain better control of the private and public consumer credit institutions. Moreover, the provisions underneath the regulation also empower the administrative roles of the governments towards promoting integrity and transparency of the institutions while they seek to provide range of credit facilities to their respective clients. The provisions associated with the consumer credit services have been enacted by the most number of developed countries to effectively deal with the complexities raised by the increasing number of privately held consumer credit corporations along with their different types of service facilities. In this regard, the administration process of the FCA has been witnessed to widely ensure both the credit providers and the consumers to promote fairness within each credit transaction. With reference to an in-depth analysis and evaluation of the consumer credit practices of both the World Bank and the FSB, the integrity and transparency of the credit transaction have been widely promoted by both the organisations. Accordingly, the business policies of both the credit institutions have long been witnessed to comply with the fundamental provisions of consumer credit regulations. In order to promote more efficiency of the consumer credit services, the adequate practice of ensuring knowledge based services to the global consumers would significantly empower the international contemporary organisations’ performances within the respective business industry. The continuous compliance of knowledge-based approach would further enable the consumers to gain more knowledge regarding various advantageous factors associated with the consumer credit services. Moreover, the practice can also protect consumers from different hurdles that are often involved with the consumer credit services due to the increasing volatility in the global economy. Additionally, the compliance of knowledge-based services would also protect creditors and other consumers to circumvent risks due to the increasing number of consumer credit institutions. In relation to business policies of FSB, the domestic clients of the organisation are generally accredited to avail the credit services. In this context, the organisation should highly focus on promoting equalities to the global customers by delivering its range of customer credit services. The strategy would further enable FSB to maintain adequate fairness and it would also increasingly help the organisation to strengthen its brand position in the global phenomenon. 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