National Credit Research Articles

Доминирование банков с государственным участием в России: современные тенденции

The article discusses a number of current problems faced by banks as participants of the financial market during their operation. These problems are analyzed in the context of tasks of improving the efficiency of the Russian economy, taking into account the features of the functioning and further development of the financial market. In this regard, the author examines the reasons underlying the dominance of banks with state participation, and their consequences. The reasons for the increase in their dominance were caused by the preferences received by banks with state participation in the period of financial crises. Further tightening of requirements for financial market participants and ongoing financial support for the largest banks has created a new market structure. The author assumes that the severe restrictions imposed in the EAEU countries on the presence of companies from Russia in their financial markets are due to the fact that Russian credit organizations significantly exceed the national credit organizations of the EAEU countries in terms of assets. The reasons for the symbiosis of the largest insurance companies and banks, and its results are named. The author concludes that the entry of banks to the food and non-food retail market gives the state a unique lever of consumer market management through banks with state participation. The results obtained can be used to create a financial services marketplace. In addition, they can help the mega-regulator develop laws aimed at increasing the banks’ efficiency in the economy.

Delivery of the Compulsory Section 129(1) Notice as required by the National Credit Act of 2005

In terms of section 129(1) of the National Credit Act 34 of 2005 (NCA), a credit provider first needs to provide a consumer with notice of his default and a list of possible remedies to overcome the default, before enforcing the agreement in a court of law. This ensures that the consumer is given the opportunity to remedy his default by, for example, undergoing debt counselling instead of having to incur legal costs when defending legal action brought against him by the credit provider. Before the National Credit Amendment Act 19 of 2014 came into operation, the NCA neglected to specify how this notice should be delivered to consumers, and this has led to various conflicting decisions. The matter was eventually settled by the Constitutional Court in two separate cases. After the Constitutional Court pronounced on the matter, the National Credit Amendment Act came into operation prescribing the manner in which the notice must be delivered. Consumer-credit legislation that existed prior to the NCA coming into operation generally also made provision for similar notices to be delivered to consumers. In this article we briefly look at how the previous consumer-credit legislation dealt with the delivery of similar notices and also consider how the delivery of notices is currently governed by the NCA. Most of the problematic issues surrounding the delivery of the section 129(1) notice have been resolved, but some still remain. One such example is found in a recent Supreme Court of Appeal case, where despite the correct delivery of the notice to the consumer, the notice caused unintended jurisdictional problems for a credit provider trying to enforce the credit agreement
 

The U.S. Syndicated Loan Market: Matching Data

We introduce a new software package for determining linkages between datasets without common identifiers. We apply these methods to three datasets commonly used in academic research on syndicated lending: Refinitiv LPC DealScan, the Shared National Credit Database, and S&P Global Market Intelligence Compustat. We benchmark the results of our match using results from the literature and previously matched files that are publicly available. We find that the company level matching is enhanced by careful cleaning of the data and considering hierarchical relationships. For loan level matching, a tailored approach based on a good understanding of the data can be better in certain dimensions than a more pure machine learning approach. The R package for the company level match can be found on Github at https://github.com/seunglee98/fedmatch.

The U.S. Syndicated Loan Market: Matching Data

We introduce a new software package for determining linkages between datasets without common identifiers. We apply these methods to three datasets commonly used in academic research on syndicated lending: Refinitiv LPC DealScan, the Shared National Credit Database, and S&P Global Market Intelligence Compustat. We benchmark the results of our match using results from the literature and previously matched files that are publicly available. We find that the company level matching is enhanced by careful cleaning of the data and considering hierarchical relationships. For loan level matching, a tailored approach based on a good understanding of the data can be better in certain dimensions than a more pure machine learning approach. The R package for the company level match can be found on Github.

Military, Finance, and Economy in the Late Ottoman Empire: Directorate-General of Hedjaz and Military Railways and Ports, 1914–1919

ABSTRACTThis article deals with the Ottoman military’s financial and economic activities during the First World War. It concentrates on how the Directorate-General of Hejaz and Military Railways and Ports (DHMRP) developed relations with the Ottoman National Credit Bank and the Ministry of Finance. Examining a set of commercial activities in which the DHMRP was engaged in cooperation with the National Credit Bank and the Ministry of Finance, it is argued that an informal alliance of the military and financial sectors came to dominate the Ottoman wartime economy in the course of the war. Yet the establishment of the Ministry of Supplies towards the end of the war marked the disintegration of this coalition. The DHMRP was closed down in March 1919, after the war ended.

The Impact Of The National Credit Act On Residential Mortgage Lending In South Africa

The purpose of the study reported in this article was to determine the impact of the National Credit Act on residential mortgage lending in South Africa. The National Credit Act (NCA) was promulgated and implemented on 1 June 2007. The purpose of the NCA was to remove the many unfair practices, inappropriate disclosure and anti-competitive practices from the market and to achieve honesty in the credit market. Low-income groups were held back because they could not gain access to formal finance to build or improve houses or supplement housing subsidies to get bigger houses. This study applied a quantitative research design using monthly time series secondary data for the period January 2001 to August 2011. The statistical analysis techniques used in this study were t-tests, descriptive statistics, trend analysis and correlation analysis. It was found that the NCA had a positive effect on the residential mortgages in South Africa. These results have policy implications on the continued regulation of the credit market and the avoidance of reckless lending.

Pre-agreement assessment as a responsible lending tool in South Africa, the EU and Belgium: Part 2

Responsible lending has become a very pertinent issue on the agenda of credit regulators across the globe who seek to combat the causes of consumer over-indebtedness. In this context the use of "pre-agreement assessment" as a tool to filter out those instances where, based on a consumer's creditworthiness or ability to repay, credit should not be granted to such a consumer, is a feature common to the lending regimes of various jurisdictions. This contribution consists of two parts: Part 1 provides a critical discussion of the reckless credit provisions of the National Credit Act 34 of 2005. Part 2 details the responsible lending measures contained in the EU Consumer Credit Directive and the EU Mortgage Credit Directive and provides an appraisal of the responsible lending measures introduced by Belgium, being a jurisdiction that has always been very pro-active in the context of consumer credit protection.
 
 

Pre-agreement assessment as a responsible lending tool in South Africa, the EU and Belgium: Part 1

Responsible lending has become a very pertinent issue on the agenda of credit regulators across the globe who seek to combat the causes of consumer over-indebtedness. In this context the use of “pre-agreement assessment” as a tool to filter out those instances where, based on a consumer’s creditworthiness or ability to repay, credit should not be granted to such consumer, is a feature common to the lending regimes of various jurisdictions.This contribution consists of two parts: Part 1 provides a critical discussion of the reckless credit provisions of the National Credit Act 34 of 2005. Part 2 details the responsible lending measures contained in the EU Consumer Credit Directive and the EU Mortgage Credit Directive and provides an appraisal of the responsible lending measures introduced by Belgium, being a jurisdiction that has always been very pro-active in the context of consumer credit protection.
 
 

Perceptions of the National Credit Regulator on the usefulness of the debt counselling process in South Africa

The South African National Credit Regulator is responsible for the regulation of credit industry, registration and training of debt counsellors, enforcement and monitoring compliance of the provisions of the National Credit Act. The aim of this paper is therefore to analyse the perceptions of the National Credit Regulator on the usefulness of debt counselling process in South Africa. A qualitative approach, which was exploratory in nature, was adopted for this study. Ten employees from the National Credit Regulator’s office were interviewed. There was no evidence that debt counsellors were managing the debt counselling service effectively. It was also observed that the debt counsellors received insufficient support from the National Credit Regulator. The paper recommends that the National Credit Regulator should adequately support the debt counsellors so that they can effectively manage debt counselling service and ultimately assist the overindebted consumers. Debt counsellors training curriculum should also be outcomes- based approach with exposure to business management.

Perceptions of the National Credit Regulator on the usefulness of the debt counselling process in South Africa

The South African National Credit Regulator is responsible for the regulation of credit industry, registration and training of debt counsellors, enforcement and monitoring compliance of the provisions of the National Credit Act. The aim of this paper is therefore to analyse the perceptions of the National Credit Regulator on the usefulness of debt counselling process in South Africa. A qualitative approach, which was exploratory in nature, was adopted for this study. Ten employees from the National Credit Regulator’s office were interviewed. There was no evidence that debt counsellors were managing the debt counselling service effectively. It was also observed that the debt counsellors received insufficient support from the National Credit Regulator. The paper recommends that the National Credit Regulator should adequately support the debt counsellors so that they can effectively manage debt counselling service and ultimately assist the overindebted consumers. Debt counsellors training curriculum should also be outcomes- based approach with exposure to business management.

The National Credit Act's remedies for reckless credit in the mortgage context

The National Credit Act prohibits the granting of reckless credit and also provides for certain remedies that courts can grant to consumers who have fallen victim to reckless lending practices. Depending on the circumstances, these remedies are the partial or full setting aside of the consumer's rights and obligations under the agreement; the temporary suspension of the effect of the agreement; and the restructuring of the consumer's obligations. This article investigates these remedies with a focus on the effect that they would have on a creditor provider under a mortgage agreement. The argument is made that the contractual and security rights of creditor providers amount to "property" for purposes of section 25(1) of the Constitution (the property clause) and that, to some degree or another, each of these remedies involve a "deprivation" (limitation or modification) of the creditor provider's rights (property). The consequence is that, when one of these remedies is granted to a consumer, the court must tailor the remedy in such a way that the effect on the credit provider is not "arbitrary" as meant in the property clause. Therefore, the proposal is that there must be a sufficient relationship between the purpose of the remedy (to discourage reckless lending and to rectify the damage caused) and the effects thereof on the credit provider. In general, the remedy should not go further than what is necessary to rectify the prejudice suffered by the consumer due to the credit provider's conduct. The formulation of the remedy should accommodate considerations such as whether and to what extent either or both parties have already performed under the agreement, and it should accordingly ensure that the consumer will not be unjustifiably enriched. The remedy should also account for the effect that it would have if the consumer is permitted to keep the property that was subject to the reckless credit agreement. The article furthermore raises doubts regarding the recent high court judgment in ABSA v De Beer, where all the consumer's rights and obligations under a mortgage agreement were set aside due to the credit provider's reckless conduct. Remedies like this have serious consequences and therefore it is imperative that courts carefully investigate all the effects that the order would have, so that a just and reasonable outcome is achieved. This articles accordingly aims to provide some guidance with reference to the principles of constitutional property law.

ТРЕНДОВІ ІНСТРУМЕНТИ ФІНАНСУВАННЯ СІЛЬСЬКОГОСПОДАРСЬКИХ ПІДПРИЄМСТВ ЗА СУЧАСНИХ ЕКОНОМІЧНИХ УМОВ

The article considers the views of scientists on the problems of financial security of the agricultural sector of the economy, their significant contribution to the creation and development of theory and practice of financial security of small and medium-sized agribusiness. It is noted that financial security is one of the most important factors influencing the efficiency of agricultural enterprises. The credit instruments of financial support of development of the enterprises of agrarian business in the modern economic environment are characterized. Agrarian receipts are singled out as a direction of financing small and medium agrarian enterprises. The importance of agrarian receipts as one of the most dynamic ways to attract financial resources and development of small and medium agrarian business of Ukraine is substantiated. Other promising instruments of financial and credit support have been identified, which allow small businesses in the agricultural sector to function effectively, to improve the efficiency of agricultural production. It is determined that the use of effective credit instruments provides innovative development of agricultural enterprises. In order to form an effective policy of financing agricultural enterprises, measures aimed at increasing the transparency of agribusiness are needed; development of support infrastructure and educational work among small businesses; unconventional but effective methods of lending to agricultural producers. It is proposed to introduce new, effective financial and credit instruments in the agricultural sector of Ukraine in modern conditions, which in the long run will ensure the innovative development of the national credit system, taking into account the experience of countries with developed competitive economies.

A critical analysis of debtor’s right to reinstate a credit agreement & resume possession of property

In terms of section 129(3)(a) of the South African National Credit Act 34 of 2005 a consumer may reinstate a credit agreement that is in default by paying all the money that is overdue together with default charges incurred by the credit provider and also the costs of enforcing the agreement until the agreement is reinstated. A consumer should pay costs of reinstating agreement if the credit provider has not yet cancelled the agreement. A consumer who paid the required costs will also resume possession of goods that were repossessed by the credit provider pursuant to attachment order. However a consumer is prohibited from reinstating a credit agreement after the property is sold pursuant to attachment order or surrender of property in terms of section 127 (section 129(4)). A consumer is also prohibited from reinstating a credit agreement after the execution of court order enforcing that agreement or after termination of agreement in terms of the NCA (section 129(4). Therefore a question arise as to whether a consumer who fell in arrears can reinstate a credit agreement by paying the arrears and preclude a credit provider from proceeding to sell the property. In other words whether a consumer who paid arrears on credit agreement can reinstate such credit agreement and disentitling the credit provider from selling the property. This was the crisp question put to the court in the recent decision in Nkata v Firstrand Bank Limited and Others (CCT73/15) [2016] ZACC 12; 2016 (6) BCLR 794 (CC); 2016 (4) SA 257 (CC) (21 April 2016). The purpose this article is to critically analyse the decision in Nkata v Firstrand Bank Limited and Others (CCT73/15) [2016] ZACC 12; 2016 (6) BCLR 794 (CC); 2016 (4) SA 257 (CC) (21 April 2016) in view of the application and interpretation of section 129(3) and (4) of the NCA.

Die omstandighede waaronder artikel 85(a) van die Nasionale Kredietwet 34 van 2005 as roete gebruik kan word om toegang of her-toegang tot die skuldverligtingsmaatreëls ingevolge die Wet te bekom

Die omstandighede waaronder artikel 85(a) van die Nasionale Kredietwet 34 van 2005 as roete gebruik kan word om toegang of her-toegang tot die skuldverligtingsmaatreëls ingevolge die Wet te bekom

Relevant factors for the suspension of the payment of disputed tax - A comparative analysis

Section 164(3) of the Tax Administration Act No. 28 of 2011 gives a senior SARS official the discretion to suspend the payment of disputed tax or a portion thereof, having regard to relevant factors. Limited guidance is available in this regard. The objectives are to establish the concerns and uncertainties regarding the relevant factors and to determine whether a ‘suspension of the payment of disputed tax’ in terms of section 164(3) constitutes the granting of ‘credit’ in terms of a ‘credit agreement’ in terms of the National Credit Act, Act No. 34 of 2005. This is achieved by adopting an explanatory research approach and performing a literature review and comparative analysis respectively. The conclusion is reached that the current factors listed are not necessarily the most relevant ones. Recommendations are made to simplify the process and to revise and improve the wording regarding the relevant factors.

Liquidity risk and maturity management over the credit cycle

We show that firm demand-side factors are strong drivers of procyclical refinancing behavior over the credit cycle using novel data from the Shared National Credit program. Firms are more likely to refinance early when credit conditions are good to keep the effective maturity of their loans long and hedge against having to refinance in tight credit conditions. High credit quality firms are better able to hedge, making their refinancing propensity more sensitive to credit cycles than less creditworthy firms. There is a strong relationship between refinancing a loan, and subsequent growth in capital expenditure, especially when a loan is refinanced early.

DEMANDING QUALITY SERVICE: AN EVALUATION OF THE WIRELESS APPLICATION SERVICE PROVIDERS ASSOCIATION (WASPA) CODE OF CONDUCT IN LIGHT OF THE CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 68 OF 2008

Consumerism has been around for quite some time, giving rise to the need to protect consumers against exploitation by suppliers. In the South African context the impetus to extend protection to consumers of goods and services however only gained proper momentum at the beginning of the 2000s. The Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 was introduced to provide protection in respect of online transactions. With the introduction of the National Credit Act 34 of 2005 that affords protection to consumers in the credit market as well as the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 that affords protection to consumers in a wide variety of instances consumer protection in South Africa has eventually reached an acceptable level.The CPA, being the most recent in the aforementioned trio of consumer protection legislation, is a comprehensive piece of legislation that extends protection to South African consumers in a wide variety of matters, inter alia, providing them with rights in respect of defective goods, contract terms, franchise agreements, auctions, product liability and so forth. The CPA was signed into law by the President on 24 April 2009 and was put into effect incrementally. The general effective date of the CPA is 31 March 2011 and the regulations issued in terms of the Act were published on 1 April 2011.The fast-developing mobile (cellphone) industry, where products and services improve constantly, necessitates the forging of consumer–brand relationships in order to keep consumers brand loyal and thus to prevent them from switching to competing brands. The South African cellphone industry has been characterised by major growth and is regarded as being one of the fastest-growing industries on the African continent. The number of cellphone users has more than doubled from 12 million in 2005 to 28 million in 2011, constituting 82% of the adult South African population. Competition between cellphone brands has also increased as a variety of different cellphone handsets and smart phones have started entering the South African market, making them accessible and affordable to South African consumers, as well as making it easier to switch between brands. South Africa has shown rapid growth in the number of cellphone users, leading the market to reach saturation. This rapid growth has also led to major network congestion and subsequent service problems related to the South African cellphone service provider networks. Subsequently, customers are showing high levels of customer dissatisfaction, requiring service recovery strategies to be put in place to remedy the situation. As it is impossible for service providers to consistently meet and exceed customer needs, service providers need to determine what remedies customers anticipate when their expectations are not met and service failures occur. If service providers are unable to recover from service failures, service providers could experience detrimental results to their profitability and performance, which could furthermore lead to customers switching service providers and engaging in negative word-of-mouth. According to Bejou and Palmer, it is important for a service business to determine their customer types and how long customers have been dealing with them (consumption stage), as this will influence how customers will react when faced with poor service and service failures and how easily they will switch to a substitutable product and new service provider.This note will examine the right to fair value, good quality, and safety in respect of services provided by mobile “service providers” in South Africa with particular reference to the CPA as well as the WASPA Code of Conduct for the mobile service provider industry.

Post National Credit Act reckless lending in the South African banking industry

One of the main aims of the National Credit Act (NCA) of 2005 in South Africa is to curtail rising consumer over-indebtedness by encouraging credit providers to adopt responsible lending practices. This research study seeks to ascertain whether the NCA’s responsible lending requirements have limited reckless lending by credit providers. Data are collected by a telephonic survey amongst debt counselors and in-depth interviews amongst bank employees. Descriptive statistics are used to analyze data from the descriptive survey, while data from in-depth interviews are analyzed using the thematic approach. Credit providers have divided opinions on whether the NCA limits reckless lending practices. Debt counselors claimed that credit providers are lending irresponsibly. By contrast, insights obtained from bank employees indicate compliance. However, both agree that borrowers are not borrowing responsibly. As a result, consumer education is required to educate consumers on both the benefits and risks of borrowing. It is also recommended that lenders be audited for compliance to the Credit act.

AN OVERVIEW OF CREDIT REPORT/CREDIT SCORE MODELS AND A PROPOSAL FOR VIETNAM

Having a national credit database system would help financial institutions (FIs) reduce credit risk and reduce non-recovered bad debts. The government will feel at ease when FIs and the people are protected from bad debts in a sustainably developing and transparent market. On the other hand, borrowers will also receive benefit. Those who have good credit history will be provided with a more favorable interest rate and less requirements, or even without collateral.
 In 2014 the Vietnam National Assembly passed the Citizen Identity Law, which requires the government to issue a unique lifetime personal identification number for each citizen (starting 2016). This will play a crucial role in building a national credit database system. In this article we will give an overview of credit report and credit score models, mainly in the United States. Based on that, we draft a detailed proposal for a national credit database system which can be implemented in Vietnam.

The Debt Couselling Process-Closing the Loopholes in the National Credit Act 34 of 2005

Statistics showing that only 3.8% of consumers who have applied for debt review in terms of the National Credit Act 34 of 2005 (NCA) have succeeded to have their cases adjudicated by the court, indicate that the process is not functioning effectively. In January 2009, the Law Clinic of the University of Pretoria was commissioned by the National Credit Regulator (NCR) to conduct an assessment on the reasons for the ineffectiveness of the debt counselling process. The research report indicated that credit providers not co-operating in the process and not-complying with the NCA and Regulations and the so-called work stream agreement reached between major credit providers, established debt counsellors and the National Credit Regulator, were the main reasons for the ineffectiveness of the debt counselling process. Second on the list of so-called major obstacles were the vagueness and insufficiency of the NCA and Regulations. The main purpose of this article, which is based on chapter 2 of the research report mentioned above, is to identify the loopholes in the NCA which cause the lack of legal certainty and which contribute to the ineffectiveness of the debt counselling process. Although the work stream guidelines are to be welcomed because they attempt to find a solution for the vagueness and insufficiency of the NCA and Regulations, it is submitted that the situation is still not desirable. Many credit providers and debt counsellors did not form part of the work stream processes and therefore cannot be bound by these agreements. The NCR's application to the High Court for a declaratory order in terms of section 16(1)(b)(ii) may shed some light on the problems currently experienced, however, it is submitted that the best solution is for the legislator to address these shortcomings in order to bring about a proper and effective debt counselling process. By also taking the Draft Debt Counselling Regulations into consideration, certain issues which, in our view, should be addressed by the legislator are identified and proposals for the amendment of provisions of the NCA are made. Ultimately, the effectiveness of the NCA's provisions to provide debt relief to the over-indebted consumer depends on the co-operation of the different role players and compliance with the spirit of the Act in terms of section 86(5)(b) to participate in good faith in the review and in the negotiations for debt rearrangement. It is submitted that in theses negotiations the purpose of the Act, namely to protect consumers, should constantly be kept in mind. Credit providers will have to change their attitudes and appreciate the fact that they will have to take greater responsibility for the negative consequences of credit granting. It is furthermore submitted that more should still be done to prevent over-indebtedness and to reduce the need for consumers to resort to the debt relief mechanisms of the Act. The apparent need for consumer education at both the adult and school level should therefore be addressed.