[...]... Securitization’, in J Niemi- Kiesiläinen, I Ramsay and W Whitford (eds), Consumer Credit, Over Indebtedness and Bankruptcy: National and International Dimensions (Oxford, Hart Publishing, 2008) 61 AJ Fishbein, ‘Subprime and Predatory Lending: New Regulatory Guidance, Current Market Conditions and Effects on Regulated Financial Institutions’, Testimony before the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer. .. decision making; and the regulation of both the procedure for granting of the consumer credit and the content of the resulting contracts, with the goal of ensuring fair and secure credit contracts that protect consumers These contrasts suggest an initial distinction between ‘neo-liberal’ and ‘social market’ approaches to regulation of consumer credit, with the UK and US within the former model and countries... appropriate role of credit, the legitimacy of differing types of credit, and regulation of the ground rules and pathologies of consumer credit, will remain important The Chapters in this book demonstrate that although there may be significant international pressures towards the adoption of neo-liberal approaches to regulation, there are competing voices and regulation rarely follows strictly a neo-liberal template... annual International Responsible Credit conference, Brussels (28 April 2006), last accessed on 2 August 2006 5 M Fellowes, M Mabanta, Borrowing to Get Ahead, and Behind: The Credit Boom and Bust in Lower-Income Markets (Washington, DC, The Brookings Institution, 2007) 1 6 E Warren, A Warren Tyagi, The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle-Class... neo-classical and behavioral economics, they conclude that reforms may represent an increasing pluralism and perhaps populism in Japanese politics III CONSUMER OVERINDEBTEDNESS AND INSOLVENCIES The increasing debt problems of households have led lawmakers all over the world to seek new solutions and, thus, insolvency procedures for consumers have become more common in different parts of the world Consumer. .. divided along racial and social lines Until recently regulation basically reached only the ‘upmarket’ for white middle-class debtors Michelle Kelly-Louw’s article takes up the problems of debtors in the basically unregulated small-loans market, in which usury has flourished The new consumer credit law is an ambitious attempt to regulate those loans, and includes both interest rate caps and a concept of...2 Johanna Niemi, Iain Ramsay, William C Whitford Earlier meetings on the effects of consumer overindebtedness have tended to focus on insolvency law.1 For the Berlin meetings and for this book a conscious and successful effort was made to expand the range of papers The globalization of the credit markets has continued and lending by international lenders has gained new consumer markets in... services has emerged, one featuring conventional products distributed by banks and savings institutions primarily for middle- and upper-income, disproportionately white, suburban markets, and the other featuring highpriced, often predatory products, offered by check-cashers, payday lenders, pawnshops, and others targeted at low-income and predominantly minority communities concentrated in central cities.27... in branch banks and the rise in check-cashers and other fringe bankers, particularly in distressed neighbourhoods.28 As Federal Reserve Board researchers have reported, the number of branch bank offices in low- and moderate-income areas dropped by 21 percent while they increased by 29 percent overall between 1975 and 1995.29 As of 2005, banks remained concentrated in high-income areas And the racial... offer high interest loans secured by post-dated checks Rent-to-own stores lease consumer goods and offer an opportunity to purchase those goods as well at prices dependent on how long they have been leased Automobile title loans are small consumer loans whereby the automobile title provides collateral Perhaps the longest-standing fringe banking institution, and one that has grown as well in recent . critical impor- tance in society. (A) Nieme Prelims 24/6/09 11:56 Page i (A) Nieme Prelims 24/6/09 11:56 Page ii Consumer Credit, Debt and Bankruptcy Comparative and International Perspectives Edited. by Johanna Niemi Iain Ramsay and William C Whitford OXFORD AND PORTLAND, OREGON 2009 (A) Nieme Prelims 24/6/09 11:56 Page iii Published in North America (US and Canada) by Hart Publishing c/o International. world. Consumer bank- ruptcy or debt adjustment schemes, leading to partial or total relief of out- standing debt, have been the traditional answer to overwhelming debt problems in Anglo-Saxon