This thesis has examined the effectiveness of the administration of the Indiana Uniform Consumer Credit Code by the Indiana Department of Financial Institutions. The overall effectiveness was analyzed in terms of three broad criteria: (1) the ability of the regulatory provisions of the law to be correctly interpreted and applied; (2) the prospective ability of the enforcement mechanisms of the law to halt, restrain, redress the effect of, and deter violations; and (3) the willingness of the administrative agency to efficiently and effectively utilize the administrative powers and perform the administrative duties delegated to it. Each was scrutinized independently in preparing the findings for and deriving the conclusions from this study.The writer found that the Code was extremely complex and difficult to interpret; that the enforcement mechanisms were far from ideal; and that the Department generally failed to compensate for these weaknesses as shown by the unaggressive utilization of its administrative powers and the complete failure to carry out certain of its administrative duties.

Companies around the world have collected enormous amounts of data at the customer level, and are using different methodologies to understand their customers’ behaviour. However these different methodologies have not been effective in leveraging customer information. In this study, by computing Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) scores for individual customers of a banking organisation, two segments namely high CLV and low CLV are mined. The level of indebtedness among customers in this study is identified based on the two segments mentioned above. Also in this study, a critical analysis of the literature on the association of CLV and Over-indebtedness is provided. The results indicate that the low CLV customers are less likely to end up over-indebted. This finding negates the common viewpoint that low CLV and over-indebtedness variables are associated. A quantitative research design was chosen above a qualitative research design for this study. CLV scores for individual customers are calculated using Hwang (2004) model and a Chi-squared test is used for the hypothesis testing of the research propositions. Based on the findings and conclusions drawn from this study, several recommendations and further future research are made. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / zkgibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / Unrestricted

A research report submitted in accordance with the requirements of the degree of Masters of Management in the Field of Public Policy (MMPP) in the Wits School of Governance (WSG), Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management at the University of the Witwatersrand, October 2017 / Even though South Africa is living in what is referred to as a constitutional democracy which is defined within the context of its Bill of Rights contained in Chapter 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act, 1996 (the Constitution) which is advocating for promotion of human rights, the country still finds itself in a situation where the ideals and objectives of this Constitution are still often regarded as unachievable by ordinary citizens. The Bill of Rights seeks to promote and protect full enjoyment of the rights contained in the Constitution and requires the state to realise this by developing progressive legislation and other reasonable measures for the achievement of the above, within the backdrop of the social and economic transformation purpose of the Constitution. The success and therefore the benefit of the Bill of Rights can only be calculated within the prism of policies and legislation developed in line with this Constitution and how these are implemented by those who have been mandated to do so / MT 2019

The Insolvency Act 24 of 1936 regulates the debtor’s estate when sequestrated for the benefit of creditors. The debtor must prove that sequestration will be to the advantage creditors and as such creates a stumbling block in the way of the debtor when applying for the voluntary surrender of his estate. Sequestration is viewed as a drastic measure due to the consequences attached to it. The sequestration procedure is often used by debtors as a form of debt relief as, subsequent to the sequestration procedure, the debtor may become rehabilitated. The effect of rehabilitation is that it discharges the debtor of all pre-existing debts and disabilities resulting from sequestration. Compulsory sequestration is often used as a debt relief measure by the debtor in the form of the so-called ‘friendly sequestration’. One of the reasons for this is that the onus of proof is much less burdensome as compared to the onus required in voluntary surrender by the debtor of his estate. South African law provides for alternative debt relief measures falling outside the scope of the Insolvency Act, including debt rearrangement in terms of section 86(7)(b) or debt restructuring in terms of section 86(7)(c) as a result of debt review in terms of the National Credit Act 34 of 2005 (NCA). However this procedure does not offer the debtor the opportunity of any discharge from his debts as the order expires only after the administration costs and all of the listed creditors have been paid in full. Further the NCA does not mention the Insolvency Act and this has led to problems in the application of both Acts and inconsistencies between them. An application for debt review by the debtor has been held to constitute an act of insolvency. Thus the creditor can use this very act of the debtor to have the debtor’s estate sequestrated. This is possible as an application for the sequestration of the debtor’s estate is not considered to be an enforcement of a debt by legal proceedings for the purposes of section 88(3) of the NCA and such actions by the creditor are not prohibited by the NCA. This was stated in Investec Bank Ltd v Mutemeri 2010 (1) SA 265 (GSJ) and was subsequently confirmed by Naidoo v ABSA Bank 2010 (4) SA 597. The consequence of this is that a debtor’s estate may be sequestrated even where he has applied for debt review. Currently, as stated by Van Heerden and Boraine, there is no explicit regulation by the legislature of the interaction between the provisions of theInsolvency Act and the NCA. In terms of FirstRand Bank v Evans 2011 (4) SA 597 (KZD) a debtor’s estate may be sequestrated even after a debt rearrangement order has been confirmed by a court in terms of the NCA. This clearly operates to the disadvantage of a debtor. Comparing the position with that in foreign jurisdictions such as the United States of America and England and Wales shows a lack of balance between the interests of the creditor and the debtor. South African insolvency law is not aligned with internationally acceptable standards because it is too creditor orientated and debtors are not provided with effective remedies to deal with their financial difficulties. This research paper will focus on reform in South African law to assist debtors in need of debt relief. There is a need for a system to be put into place to regulate application for debt review by a debtor and the application for the sequestration of the debtor’s estate by the creditor. In addition there is a need for the introduction of new legislation or amendment to the NCA which could be effective in redressing the current situation. / Thesis (LL.M.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

The National Credit Act aggressively addresses problems in the South African credit market. The purpose of the NCA is to promote socio-economic and ethical values that will serve to protect consumers, through the application and enforcement of various laws. The research was conducted in the Durban area. Literature was surveyed with the aim to determine the views of Durban consumers concerning the National Credit Act. The study adopted an exploratory and quantitative research method using a survey (questionnaire) as its main data-collection instrument. This was administered via email. The sampling technique used is a non-probability sampling with a target population comprising of natural persons in the Durban area, who have been affected by credit. Data were analysed using the SPSS statistical package, which was appropriate for this research since its nature was quantitative rather than qualitative. Significance and correlations were the basis of the data analysis in this research and cross-tabulations were used in order to enable presentation of results. Only the variables that were relevant to the research questions were used for further analysis after the significance tests were done. The findings on the research reflected that most of the respondents had higher education degrees, which indicated that the research covered well-educated people; most respondents were satisfied with the way the NCA was explained when it was introduced, although the research highlighted a need for further consumer awareness of the Act to eliminate major default. Some recommendations that include the further research on the same topic with a larger sample were made. It is concluded that it is necessary to make improvements on the Act. / MBA. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2013.

This dissertation considers the possible impact certain requirements of the National Credit Act 34 of 2005 (hereafter NCA) has on reckless credit lending by credit providers. The dissertation will identify problem areas created by the provisions of the NCA and the impact thereof on security or partial performances linked to the credit agreement. “Reckless credit lending” used to be a new terminology introduced in the credit market to increase consumer spending, but it is currently a well-known practice in the credit industry. The NCA aims at protecting consumers, especially against present everincreasing reckless-credit practices. However, certain provisions relating to reckless credit are mostly ambiguous and vague. The NCA is silent on the development and implementation of guidelines and policies relating to the prevention of reckless credit and the consequences of such an order on security and/or performances (whether there was partial or full performance). This study will discuss the prevention and consequence of reckless credit by referring to the NCA, articles written by various authors, as well as court decisions where related concerns were addresses by the judges concerned with this issue. Although the provisions stipulated in the amended NCA improve the position of the consumer in the credit market, the legislature should have drafted certain applicable provisions with more care and detail. A more detailed draft could circumvent vagueness in particular areas of concern. / Private Law / LL. M.