This thesis deals with the analysis of the annual percentage rate (APR) and other key parameters of the consumer credit with regard to observance of the legal rules by major providers of the consumer credit on the Czech credit market. The first part deals with the economic implications of the consumer credit. It focuses mainly on the analysis of the indebtedness of Czech households on the consumer credit market. The second part deals with the legal implications of consumer credit, mainly legal requirements that are imposed on providers of the consumer credit. The third part provides the analysis of the APR indicator on the consumer credit and on the short-term loans. On the basis of the defined consumer credit models is provided the comparison of the APR for each credit both in terms of its compliance with the current legislation and in terms of the provider of the consumer credit. The final part deals with the specific recommendations for the financial literacy development and for the future legislative development.

This study seeks to show that a higher usage of debt instruments by consumers with limited available funds leads to the usage of savings tools to finance debt costs, which subsequently results in lower levels of savings. This was espoused by the literature on PFM and also proven by the test results from the research hypotheses that were computed by means of a logistic regression. The test results showed that there is a statistically significant relationship between the usage of debt instruments and the usage of savings tools. An emphasis is placed on the importance of savings as an integral component of the PFM concept: it is namely seen to be indispensable to good financial planning to ensure current and future consumer financial security. Therefore, this study concludes by highlighting the importance of consumers’ financial- management skills in minimising debt costs to increase levels of savings by controlling higher consumption expenditure through debt. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business management)

Thesis (MDevF (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In the realm of consumer behaviour research, discussions regarding materialism – commonly defined as the desire to consume – indebtedness and low-income consumerism have become almost unavoidable. This is to be expected in a society where spending patterns are constantly evolving, levels of indebtedness are steadily increasing and interest in the so-called ‘bottom of the pyramid’ consumers has been heightened. In South Africa, studies have found changes in consumption and credit usage to not only be significant, but also particularly relevant amongst low-income consumers. While this changing culture of consumption has been widely acknowledged, there has been little empirical research on consumer behaviour in South Africa and even less on low-income consumerism. For this reason a study was developed, which sought to explore the relationship between materialism and indebtedness among a sample of low-income, instalment paying consumers of South Africa’s leading catalogue retailer. Through use of a mailed self-completion survey questionnaire, consumers of the targeted retailer were asked to indicate their level of materialism, as measured using a materialism scale, and to report their level of indebtedness, measured as the number of retail store accounts held. In addition, key demographic data, consisting of the respondents’ age, gender and monthly income, was drawn from the retailer’s database. Using this data the study assessed whether (i) the sampled consumers displayed strong characteristics of materialism and (ii) whether materialism is a significant variable in predicting the sampled consumers’ propensity for incurring debt. Data analysis techniques applied in this study included tests to measure the reliability of the materialism scale as well as a variety of descriptive and inferential statistical tools, designed to identify relationships in the collected data. Using these techniques, this study found that sampled low-income consumers are indeed highly materialistic, with levels of materialism observed in this study being significantly higher than in a previous materialism study where a low-income earning consumer sample was used. Regarding levels of indebtedness, regression and correlation analysis performed suggested the presence of statistically significant relationships between consumers’ levels of indebtedness and each of the demographic variables of age and gender. However, materialism and monthly income was not found to be significant variables in determining a consumer’s level of indebtedness. While the decision to delineate this study based on the consumers of one particular retailer limits the extent to which findings can be generalised to the larger South African population, the results do provide a number of important insights, which contributes to the scant body of literature on low-income consumer behaviour in this country. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Op die navorsingsveld oor verbruikersgedrag het die gesprek rondom die voorkoms van materialisme (wat gewoonlik gedefinieer word as die behoefte om te verbruik), verbruikersdruk en die skuldlas onder lae inkomstegroepe byna onvermydelik geword. Dit is te verwagte in ’n samelewing waar bestedingspatrone voortdurend ontwikkel, skuldlasvlakke aan die groei is en die belangstelling in verbruikers op die onderste vlak van die sogenaamde piramide verskerp het. Studies in Suid-Afrika dui aan dat, onder lae inkomste verbruikers, die verskille in verbruikersgedrag en kredietgebruik nie net opvallend nie maar ook besonder ter saaklik is. Hoewel die verandering in verbruikerskultuur rondom besteding reeds wyd beskryf is, is daar nog nie veel empiriese navorsing oor verbruikersgedrag gedoen nie – en nog minder onder lae inkomstegroepe. Dit is om hierdie rede dat ’n studie ontwerp is om die verhouding tussen materialisme en skuldlas te ondersoek onder ’n steekproef van lae inkomste huurkoopverbruikers van Suid-Afrika se grootste kataloguskleinhandelaar. Daar is gebruik gemaak van ’n vraelys vir die opname, wat aan die verbruikers gepos is en deur hulle ingevul is. Verbruikers is gevra om die vlak van hul materialisme aan te dui, soos gemeet volgens die gebruik van ’n skaal of maatstaf vir materialisme; en om hul skuldlas weer te gee, gemeet aan die aantal rekeninge wat hulle by kleinhandelwinkels het. Belangrike demografiese data, soos die respondente se ouderdom, geslag en maandelikse inkomste, is verkry uit die kleinhandelaar se databasis. Hierdie data is gebruik om te bepaal, (i) of die steekproefverbruikers ’n sterk neiging tot materialisme toon, en (ii) of materialisme ’n beduidende rol speel in die voorspelbaarheid van die mate waartoe die steekproefverbruikers hulle aan skuld sal blootstel. Tegnieke wat in die studie gebruik is vir data-analise sluit toetse in wat die betroubaarheid van die maatstawwe vir materialisme meet, asook ’n aantal beskrywende en afleibare statistiese metodes wat ontwerp is om verhoudings in die versamelde data te identifiseer. Deur die gebruik van hierdie tegnieke het die studie gevind dat hierdie steekproef van lae inkomste verbruikers inderdaad hoogs materialisties is, en dat die vlakke van materialisme wat waargeneem is, beduidend hoër is as wat gevind is in ’n vorige studie onder ’n steekproef van lae-inkomste verbruikers. Met betrekking tot skuldlasverpligtinge, het die regressie- en korrelasie-analise wat gedoen is die bestaan van statisties beduidende verhoudinge tussen verbruikers se skuldlasvlakke en die demografiese veranderlikes van ouderdom en geslag aangedui. Daar is egter gevind materialisme en maandelikse inkomste is nie beduidende veranderlikes in die bepaling van ’n verbruiker se skuldlas nie. Hoewel die ontwerp van hierdie studie om verbruikers van slegs ’n enkele kleinhandelaar in te sluit ’n beperking plaas op die toepasbaarheid van die bevindinge op die wyer Suid-Afrikaanse bevolking, het die resultate ’n aantal belangrike insigte verskaf wat bydra tot die klein hoeveelheid bestaande literatuur oor lae inkomste verbruikersgedrag in die land.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2007. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: is a common misconception that marketing is all about advertising and other promotional activities. These activities are only part of the marketing process which is in fact about identifying the wants and needs of certain customers and satisfying them better than the competition. However, it must also be borne in mind that these needs and wants change over time as customers change positions in the customer lifecycle. The customer lifecycle of a Woolworths Financial Services personal loan customer is not unlike the generic customer lifecycle of acquisition, development and retention and as such aligns with the principles associated with this theory – acquire, develop and retain as many customers as possible at the lowest cost. The current marketing practices of Woolworths Financial Services are not targeted, focusing on the entire base of prospective customers without any differentiation between those who would most likely respond and those who would not. These practices, however, have provided the opportunity to gain valuable information about the characteristics of those who do respond and those who do not. The use of data mining and regression analysis models (developed on this data) can provide the ability to effectively predict the response curve – ranking and assigning probabilities based on customer behaviour. That being said, these probabilities are of little use if they are not used to optimise the structure of marketing campaigns by determining where to differentiate an offer or not. It is here that mathematical science provides a solution through the optimisation process – the process of computing the mix of variables that provides the best result – in this case the highest number of customers acquired, developed and retained within the constraints of a defined marketing budget. Finally, the result of this process culminates in an increase in shareholder value which would not have been achieved through existing marketing products. The risk associated with implementing this process is negligible, based on empirical evidence regarding the impact of differentiated offers on response rates and as such must be implemented wherever possible. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Dit is ‘n algemene wanopvatting dat bemarking net oor advertensie en ander reklame aktiwitiete gaan. Hierdie aktiwiteite is slegs ‘n deel van die bemarkingsproses wat eintlik gaan oor die identifisering van die behoeftes van sekere kliënte en om hulle beter as die opposisie te kan bedien. Dit moet egter in gedagte gehou word dat die behoeftes van kliente oor tyd verander as hulle posisies skuif in die kliëntelewenssiklus. Die kliëntelewenssiklus van ‘n Woolworths Finansiële Dienste persoonlikeleningskliënt is nie anders as die gemiddelde kliëntelewensiklus van verkryging, ontwikkeling en retensie nie, en vergelyk dus met die beginsels wat met hierdie teorie geassosieer word – verkry, ontwikkel en behou so veel as moontlik kliënte teen die laagste koste. Die huidige bemarkingsprosesse van Woolworths Finansiële Dienste is nie beperk nie en fokus op die algehele moontlike kliëntebasis sonder om te onderskei tussen dié wat heel moontlik sal reageer en dié wat nie sal nie. Hierdie praktyk het egter die geleentheid geskep om waardevolle inligting te bekom oor dié wat reageer en dié wat nie reageer nie. Die gebruik van dataontleding en regressie analise modelle (ontwikkel op hierdie data) kan die vermoë skep om effektief die reaksiekurwe te voorspel – rangskikking en aanwysing van waarskynlikhede gebaseer op kliëntegedrag. Gegewe dié afleiding, is hierdie waarskynlikhede van geringe belang as dit nie aangewend word om die struktuur van die bemarkingsveldtog te optimeer deur te bepaal of ‘n aanbieding gewysig moet word of nie. Dit is hier waar wiskundige metodes ‘n oplossing bied deur die optimeringsproses – in hierdie geval die meeste kliënte wat verkry, ontwikkel en behou kan word binne die beperkinge van ‘n geïdentifiseerde bemarkingsbegroting. Ten slotte, die resultaat van hierdie proses lei tot ‘n toename in aandeelhouerwaarde wat nie moontlik sou wees deur bestaande bemarkingsprodukte nie. Die risiko met die implementering van hierdie proses is weglaatbaar klein, gebaseer op die empiriese bewyse aangaande die impak van gedifferensieerde aanbiedings op reaksiekoerse en moet dus geïmplementeer word waar moontlik.

Les encours de crédit à la consommation représentent 7 voire 8 % du PIB d'un État. Le cadre règlementaire dans lequel le crédit à la consommation s'inscrit a été profondément modifié par la directive européenne 2008/48/CE et par la loi n°2010-737 dite « loi Lagarde ».Notre travail vise donc à répondre à la question suivante : quel type de relation existe-t-il entre les prêteurs et les emprunteurs sur le marché du crédit à la consommation ? Ces relations sont-elles spécifiques ? Trois objectifs sont proposés, pour chacun d'eux , nous présentons un éclairage côté emprunteur et un côté prêteur. Le premier, en lien avec les évolutions réglementaires, montre que l'information est au cœur de la relation et que tout changement ou évolution de l'information impacte la relation. Le second objectif, plus stratégique, montre que la prise en considération de biais de comportement (biais de sur-confiance et d'optimisme) ou que la mise en place d'une relation durable entre le prêteur et l'emprunteur impacte les décisions d'octroi de crédit. Le troisième objectif, de nature financière, montre que la relation prêteur emprunteur amène à la détermination de voies d'endettement « optimales » pour un ménage mais, également, à la réduction du risque du prêteur dans le cadre de la théorie du portefeuille. Une méthodologie à la fois qualitative et quantitative est utilisée. Nous constatons que l'équilibre est de type mélangeant et que la relation bancaire n'impacte qu'indirectement ce marché. La prise en compte de comportements biaisés pour les emprunteurs conduit à une composition du portefeuille de crédits moins risquée pour le prêteur. La relation prêteur emprunteur est appréhendée à partir de l'analyse des systèmes de partage de l'information des 27 États de l'Union Européenne. / Consumer credit outstanding stands at 7 or 8 per cent of the GDP. The regulation frame of consumption credit was profoundly modified by the Consumer credit directive 2008/48/CE and the « Lagarde Law » n°2010-737. Consequently, the question we address in this research is: what type of relationship exists between lenders and borrowers in consumer credit market? Are these relations specific? Three objectives are proposed. In any case, we present a lender position and a borrower position. The first one, linked to regulation evolutions, shows that information is the cornerstone of such a relation and any information impacting it. The second objective, more strategic, shows those behavioral biases considerations (overconfidence and optimism bias) or the elaboration of a long run relationship banking between lenders and borrowers impacts on the decisions of granting credit. The third objective, more financial, shows that this relationship defines “optimal” ways of household's indebtedness and also reduces the loan portfolio risk of a lender. A methodology both qualitative and quantitative is used. It is shown that the equilibrium is a pooling equilibrium and that the relationship banking indirectly impacts the consumer credit market. A composition involving a behavior bias yields a less risked loan portfolio for the lenders. The lender borrower relationship is analyzed from the information sharing systems in the 27 EU countries.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:48:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Joao Nicola Basile Tingas.pdf: 1229086 bytes, checksum: 313b8401a94efa48d4c09a27f6b9cbbc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-10-06 / Over the last decade, access to consumer credit has increased considerably both in developed and emerging countries. This event attracted the attention of economists. Brazil is one of these cases. As part of this research agenda, my dissertation analyzes the expansion of loans to individuals in country between 2003 and 2010. In this period, individual consumer credit grew at an annual rate above real GDP showing an increase well above the expansion of total credit, which adds up all types of corporate credit. In addition to demonstrating the strong growth of supply and demand for credit, this paper seeks to identify the conditions that led the lenders to offer and consumers to demand credit intensely in a few years. We can identify two main groups of factors and constraints affecting expansion of the consumer credit: first, microeconomics advances, institutional reform and modernization of the financial system; and second, foundations and macroeconomic policy. The context analysis of these variables helps to explain why the ratio of total credit to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) almost doubled from 2003 to 2010. On the other hand, there is evidence about deceleration of consumption of goods and services, also consumer credit in the first half of 2011, which will motivate the discussion of some alternatives to consolidate a second phase expansion of credit in the near future / Ao longo da última década, o acesso ao crédito de consumo aumentou consideravelmente tanto nos países desenvolvidos como nos emergentes um acontecimento que despertou a atenção dos economistas. Esse também foi o caso do Brasil. Inserida nessa agenda de pesquisas, esta dissertação tem por objetivo analisar a expansão do crédito para pessoa física no Brasil entre 2003 e 2010. Nesse período, o crédito de consumo para pessoa física cresceu à taxa superior ao crescimento do PIB real, um incremento superior ao do crédito total, que soma também todas as modalidades de concessão de crédito pessoa jurídica. Além de demonstrar o vigoroso crescimento da oferta e demanda de crédito, o trabalho busca identificar as condições que levaram os credores a ofertar e os consumidores a demandar crédito em ritmo tão intenso e veloz nesse período. Podem ser identificados dois grandes grupos promotores dessa expansão: primeiro, avanços microeconômicos, reforma institucional e modernização do sistema financeiro; segundo, fundamentos e políticas macroeconômicas. A análise do contexto da evolução dessas variáveis busca compreender como a relação do crédito total sobre o PIB quase dobrou nos últimos oito anos. Entretanto, no primeiro semestre de 2011, foram detectados indícios de desaceleração do consumo de bens e serviços e do crédito de consumo, o que motivará o debate de alternativas para consolidar a segunda fase de expansão do crédito no país em um futuro próximo

[pt] Este trabalho utiliza uma reforma de crédito quase-experimental no Brasil para entender os efeitos da liberalização financeira e os canais através dos quais ela promove crescimento econômico. Utiliza-se dados em painel de todos os 5.500 municípios brasileiros e explora-se questões legais que envolvem essa política para quantificar os impactos macroeconômicos da eliminação de barreiras ao crédito em uma economia aberta. A reforma parece aumentar o montante total emprestado, além de estimular outros serviços bancários. Os achados indicam ainda um aumento substancial nos salários e nos lucros das firmas, e a redução do setor informal. Ademais, a análise sugere a presença de efeitos dinâmicos importantes e que os impactos sejam mais intensos em economias mais abertas, mais ricas, menos agrícolas e mais financeiramente desenvolvidas. / [en] This work uses a quasi-experimental credit reform in Brazil to understand the effects of financial liberalization and the channels through which it promotes economic growth. We use panel data for all 5,500 Brazilian municipalities and exploit legal issues underlying the policy in order to quantify the macroeconomic impacts of eliminating credit barriers in an open economy. The reform appears to rise total borrowing, besides stimulating other banking services. Our findings also indicate substantial increases in wages and business profits, and the reduction of the informal sector. Furthermore, the analysis suggests the presence of important dynamic effects and that impacts are greater in more opened, wealthier, less rural and more financially developed economies.

Thesis (M. Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 1999 / Refer to document

<p>The subject of sms-loans is examined by using primary and secondary sources’. This form of credit is formally independent from other obligations with a very short credit period and the amount of the loan is low. This form of credits is applied by mobile phones and on the internet by several companies, some of them are presented in this essay. These type of creditors do not come under any sanctions from the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority as is customary for other creditors, they only need to register. Within the consumer credit legislation from 1992 there are some exceptions in the 5a, 6 and 9 §§ concerning credit rating, information and agreements in writing. These exceptions are the reasons that make sms-loans possible. The current legislation on this subject is identified and the exceptions are further explained in the essay. Within this type of credit the consumer protection differs from other types of loans with higher credit amounts. This is also due to the exceptions within the law. The current consumer credit legislation is based on a council directive from 1987, where it is optional for the member states to include these exceptions or not in their legislation. The legislator in Sweden adopted these exceptions, as they did not predict any risk of over indebtedness. In the law-making process documented in the government bill 1991/92:83, this risk was considered as non-existent, although this risk of over indebtedness was observed by the Swedish Consumer Agency and the Swedish Enforcement Authority. The statistics of the official non-payment notices confirms this observation. These authorities and the non-governmental organisation, The Swedish Consumers’ Association, have since 2006 and onwards been pushing for a change of the legislation according to the abrogation of the exceptions. Within several official publications the complexity of sms-loans are described, such as the lack of consumer protection and the risk of over indebtedness. The Swedish Consumer Agency is the supervising authority regarding this legislation field, and the companies providing sms-loans. When the Agency discharges one’s official duties, the Marketing Act is the legislation in use. The Swedish Market Court has convicted creditors, but none of the verdicts were related to the exceptions. The lack of consumer protection is also noticed in the EU, and a new council directive was adopted in 2008. This has now been implemented into a memorandum and the appurtenant draft bill. The intention with this bill is to enforce the consumer protection and to reduce the risk of over indebtedness, when consumers obtain credit. This bill is intended to become effective at 1 of January 2011.     </p>

The subject of sms-loans is examined by using primary and secondary sources’. This form of credit is formally independent from other obligations with a very short credit period and the amount of the loan is low. This form of credits is applied by mobile phones and on the internet by several companies, some of them are presented in this essay. These type of creditors do not come under any sanctions from the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority as is customary for other creditors, they only need to register. Within the consumer credit legislation from 1992 there are some exceptions in the 5a, 6 and 9 §§ concerning credit rating, information and agreements in writing. These exceptions are the reasons that make sms-loans possible. The current legislation on this subject is identified and the exceptions are further explained in the essay. Within this type of credit the consumer protection differs from other types of loans with higher credit amounts. This is also due to the exceptions within the law. The current consumer credit legislation is based on a council directive from 1987, where it is optional for the member states to include these exceptions or not in their legislation. The legislator in Sweden adopted these exceptions, as they did not predict any risk of over indebtedness. In the law-making process documented in the government bill 1991/92:83, this risk was considered as non-existent, although this risk of over indebtedness was observed by the Swedish Consumer Agency and the Swedish Enforcement Authority. The statistics of the official non-payment notices confirms this observation. These authorities and the non-governmental organisation, The Swedish Consumers’ Association, have since 2006 and onwards been pushing for a change of the legislation according to the abrogation of the exceptions. Within several official publications the complexity of sms-loans are described, such as the lack of consumer protection and the risk of over indebtedness. The Swedish Consumer Agency is the supervising authority regarding this legislation field, and the companies providing sms-loans. When the Agency discharges one’s official duties, the Marketing Act is the legislation in use. The Swedish Market Court has convicted creditors, but none of the verdicts were related to the exceptions. The lack of consumer protection is also noticed in the EU, and a new council directive was adopted in 2008. This has now been implemented into a memorandum and the appurtenant draft bill. The intention with this bill is to enforce the consumer protection and to reduce the risk of over indebtedness, when consumers obtain credit. This bill is intended to become effective at 1 of January 2011.