Publication: Responsible Lending : Overview of Regulatory Tools
Loading...
Published
2013-10
ISSN
Date
2014-01-30
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
This paper provides an overview of key regulatory actions a government may implement to support responsible lending. It covers a range of possible interventions, including the provision of information, developing consumers' ability to use that information, formal requirements for responsible behavior of the lenders, and regulatory limits for loans. Because the research on the effectiveness of the responsible lending policies is limited, the paper focuses on literature overview and empirical evidence when available and uses case studies to describe key policies. A regulator seeking to develop a responsible lending framework must cover all areas of the responsible lending regulatory and educational mix. No single solution may be applied universally. The regulators must ensure they understand the retail credit markets. The paper identifies main policy options and areas for further research. Better data on lending markets before and after the rules are introduced and more detailed understanding of consumer behavior helps in identifying effective regulatory rules and supervisory actions that help ensure more responsible lending while not limiting financial inclusion and the growth of the credit market. Access to credit is sometimes considered by national authorities a crucial measure of financial inclusion. Low-income countries where microfinance is a key contributor financial inclusion may use similar measures.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Prouza, Tomáš. 2013. Responsible Lending : Overview of Regulatory Tools. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/16728 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Financial Capability in Mexico : Results from a National Survey on Financial Behaviors, Attitudes, and Knowledge(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-11)This report describes a baseline measure of the financial capability of the Mexican adult population. Chapter one describes the Mexican context and the rationale for the financial capability study. Chapter two describes key findings related to daily money management and financial planning behaviors and attitudes. Chapter three examines decisions related to the use of financial products and level of financial knowledge. Chapter four summarizes key behaviors and attitudes into financial capability scores, facilitating the creation of profiles and comparisons among different segments of the population. Chapter five presents international comparisons. Chapter six examines the relationship between financial capability, financial knowledge, and financial inclusion. Chapter seven provides policy recommendations related to the key challenges to financial capability identified in the report.Publication Croatia : Diagnostic Review of Consumer Protection and Financial Literacy, Volume 1. Key Findings and Recommendations(Washington, DC, 2010-02)As financial markets develop and deepen, one of the key issues for a fair, open and efficient market is effective consumer protection and financial literacy. The European Union takes the approach that an effective regime of financial consumer protection should allow consumers to have access to: sufficient information to make informed decisions about their financial choices; cost-effective recourse mechanisms to redress violations of financial service contracts; and programs of consumer education and financial literacy that empower them to understand their financial rights and obligations. This review has found that the quality of consumer protection in financial services in Croatia has improved in recent years. In particular, the approval of the 2007 Consumer Protection Act incorporated many of the EU Directives related to financial consumer protection. In addition, the National Council on Consumer Protection was established in 2008 to advise the Government on its national strategy for consumer protection in the coming years. A nation-wide baseline survey of financial literacy would provide useful information in designing programs in financial education and consumer awareness. As pioneered in the United Kingdom, financial literacy surveys can identify which part of the population is most vulnerable to financial abuse. The baseline survey should be segmented by age, gender, geographic area, household income, and formal education. After a period of three to five years, a follow-up survey could be done to evaluate the effectiveness of the programs of financial education and consumer awareness.Publication Slovakia : Technical Note on Consumer Protection in Financial Services, Volume 1. Main Report(Washington, DC, 2007-07)As financial markets develop and deepen, one of the key issues for the fair, open and efficient operation of the markets is the protection of consumers rights in financial services. Be they bank depositors or borrowers or investors in insurance policies, securities or investment or pension funds, financial consumers need the ability to accurately understand the terms and conditions of their contracts and take action if the terms of contracts have been violated. The Note is the second report in a pilot program to analyze consumer protection in financialservices.The objectives of the Note are three-fold, to: (1) present a set of draft good practices for assessing consumer protection in financial services; (2) conduct a review of the existing rules and practices in Slovakia compared to the draft practices; and (3) provide recommendations on ways to improve consumer protection in financial services in Slovakia. The Technical Note wasprepared at the request of the Slovak Ministry of Finance, with the valuable support of the National Bank of Slovakia and other government agencies, ministries, and non-government organizations. In the past the World Bank has also prepared governance reviews of the Slovak financial sector for banking and private pension funds. Few guidelines are available for consumer protection in financial services. Consumer protection in financial services remains a new and developing area for which no consensus has developed on the broad parameters against which a specific country might be analyzed. This Note relied on the EU Directives related to consumer protection and the reports of European financialregulatory and supervisory agencies. Other sources were also used. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission and other state, federal and self-regulatory agencies have developed laws, rules and guidelines to protect financial consumers. In addition, the 2003 OECD Guidelines for Protecting Consumers from Fraudulent and DeceptiveCommercial Practices across Borders and the 1999 United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection served as useful reference points for general consumer protection not related to the financial sector. The recommendations in the Note go beyond the provisions of the EU Directives currently in force. As described in the EU Consumer Protection strategy announced in March 2007 and the April 2007 Green Paper on Retail Financial Services, European financial consumers wouldbenefit from stronger legal and institutional protections than are currently in place. Both in Europe and elsewhere, contemporary thinking on consumer protection is rapidly evolving. The Technical Note takes into account the international discussion on financial consumer protection and evolving good practices in financial consumer protection. Thus, the Note presents recommendations that are applicable to the Slovak financial sector, but in some cases go beyondthe minimum requirements set by EU legislation.Publication Financial Capability in Colombia(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-07-01)Colombian authorities have made financial inclusion a core element of the country's socioeconomic development. The Central Bank of Colombia (BRC) requested support from the World Bank to develop and execute a nationally representative survey on financial capability. This report covers the first nationally representative study to detail the financial behavior, attitudes, and knowledge that comprise financial capability. One complementary national study is the annual Household Financial Burden and Education Survey (IEFIC) jointly undertaken by the BRC and the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE). This report provides insights on consumer behavior, attitudes, and knowledge relevant to initiatives promoting financial education and financial inclusion. Preliminary insights from this study have been used in developing the National Strategy on Social and Economic Policy (CONPES) document outlining the strategy for financial education in Colombia. There is an ongoing debate over measures that will codify a national financial education strategy into law. This report has following four objectives: (i) to provide empirical evidence on the financial behavior, attitudes, and knowledge of the Colombian population; (ii) to support the design of public policies to enhance both knowledge about and the quality of financial services; (iii) to highlight vulnerabilities and gaps in particular segments of the population with the goal of improving and focusing public policies and interventions where they are most needed; and (iv) to provide a basis for international comparison with other countries for which these data are available. This report describes a baseline measure of the financial capability of the Colombian adult population and highlights key results from the first national survey. This report is organized as follows: chapter one gives introduction. Chapter two describes key findings related to daily money management and financial planning behaviors and attitudes. Chapter three examines decisions related to the use of financial products and level of financial knowledge. Chapter four summarizes key behaviors and attitudes into financial capability scores, facilitating the creation of profiles and comparisons among different segments of the population. Chapter five presents international comparisons. Chapter six examines the relationship between financial capability, financial knowledge, and financial inclusion. Chapter seven provides policy recommendations related to the key challenges to financial capability identified in the report.Publication Global Survey on Consumer Protection and Financial Literacy Results Brief : Regulatory Practices in 114 Economies(Washington, DC, 2013)Financial consumer protection and financial education policies, in conjunction with the regulation of financial institutions and markets, need to ensure safe access to financial services and support financial stability and financial inclusion objectives. Consumer protection and financial literacy can contribute to improved efficiency, transparency, competition, and access to retail financial markets by reducing information asymmetries and power imbalances among providers and users of financial services. Rapid progress toward widespread financial inclusion must be appropriately complemented with checks and balances that ensure a responsible provision of financial services and products. A number of international efforts are in place to improve dialogue and identify best practices in financial consumer protection. To contribute to the international dialogue on financial consumer protection the World Bank in conjunction with Fin-CoNet, an international cooperation platform for supervisory agencies in the area of financial consumer protection, conducted a global survey on consumer protection and financial literacy to collect information from financial regulatory agencies in 114 economies. This brief summarizes the key results of the survey and accompanies the release of the data collected to provide timely feedback on the results.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Morocco Economic Update, Winter 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-04-03)Despite the drought causing a modest deceleration of overall GDP growth to 3.2 percent, the Moroccan economy has exhibited some encouraging trends in 2024. Non-agricultural growth has accelerated to an estimated 3.8 percent, driven by a revitalized industrial sector and a rebound in gross capital formation. Inflation has dropped below 1 percent, allowing Bank al-Maghrib to begin easing its monetary policy. While rural labor markets remain depressed, the economy has added close to 162,000 jobs in urban areas. Morocco’s external position remains strong overall, with a moderate current account deficit largely financed by growing foreign direct investment inflows, underpinned by solid investor confidence indicators. Despite significant spending pressures, the debt-to-GDP ratio is slowly declining.Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.Publication Europe and Central Asia Economic Update, Spring 2025: Accelerating Growth through Entrepreneurship, Technology Adoption, and Innovation(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-04-23)Business dynamism and economic growth in Europe and Central Asia have weakened since the late 2000s, with productivity growth driven largely by resource reallocation between firms and sectors rather than innovation. To move up the value chain, countries need to facilitate technology adoption, stronger domestic competition, and firm-level innovation to build a more dynamic private sector. Governments should move beyond broad support for small- and medium-sized enterprises and focus on enabling the most productive firms to expand and compete globally. Strengthening competition policies, reducing the presence of state-owned enterprises, and ensuring fair market access are crucial. Limited availability of long-term financing and risk capital hinders firm growth and innovation. Economic disruptions are a shock in the short term, but they provide an opportunity for implementing enterprise and structural reforms, all of which are essential for creating better-paying jobs and helping countries in the region to achieve high-income status.Publication Argentina Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.Publication World Development Report 2006(Washington, DC, 2005)This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.