Nontraditional lenders and access to local agricultural credit markets by beginning and female farmers

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to evaluate if access to local branch infrastructure of the farm credit system institutions (FCS), banks and credit unions (BCU), and alternative financial services (AFS) providers is related to the use of credit from non-traditional lenders (NTLs). The focus is on beginning and women operators who are typically credit constrained and thus more likely to suffer from closures of bank branches and consolidation of traditional agricultural lenders.Design/methodology/approachInformed by Detragiache et al. (2000), the authors specify farmers’ use of loans as a function of their access to credit (measured by the branch density of each lender type) along with operator’s and operation’s controls. The measures of loans by NTLs (number, use, share and lender type) require the use of Poisson, Probit, Tobit and Multinomial Logit techniques. This study utilizes individual producer data from the 2018 Agricultural Resource Management Survey and 2018 county-level branch density data for FCS, BCU and AFS providers.FindingsAccess to credit from FCS is helpful to BFRs only, while access to AFS is associated with the use of loans from NTLs by women but not by BFRs. As expected, access to BCU credit matters for the use of loans from NTLs, with a complementary effect for BFRs but a substitution effect for women’s use of such loans.Originality/valueThere are no studies on local agricultural credit markets in the US that evaluate the implications from changes in access to credit on credit-constrained borrowers and their use of NTLs’ credit.

Does Access to Bank Accounts as a Minor Improve Financial Capability? Evidence from Minor Bank Account Laws

Banking the unbanked is a common policy goal, but should this include access to bank accounts for minors? This study estimates how teenagers' access to bank accounts affects their financial development. Using variation in state laws, we show policies that permit access to independently-owned accounts increase account ownership at age 16 through age 19, although by age 24 those young adults are banked at similar rates to teens who grew up in states that do not allow minors to own accounts independently. Teens who had access to independently-owned accounts use fewer high-cost alternative financial services (like payday loans) through age 20—but are then more likely to use AFS, particularly check-cashing services, from age 21 through 24. Using credit records, we show that access to non-custodial accounts has no effects on credit scores in the short-run, but lower credit scores and more loan delinquencies at ages 21 through 24. While these state laws promote financial inclusion for teenagers, the young people who take on accounts may experience negative consequences in the longer run.

Access to Banking and the Role of Inequality and the Financial Crisis

We study access to banking and how it is related to banks’ rate of return on investments and the distribution of income. We develop our empirical framework through a theoretical supply-side model of bank deposit services with a consumer population heterogeneous in income. We use this model to show how decreases in the interest rate margin and higher income disparities lead to an increase in the proportion of unbanked. Using localized US household data from 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015 we find strong empirical evidence for the predictions of the model. We then structurally estimate our model to estimate the value of having a checking account relative to alternative financial services and to quantify the effects of actual changes in the interest rate margin and the distribution of income that occurred in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.

How positive service experiences contribute to service captivity

Purpose Service captivity is described as the experience of constrained choice whereby a consumer has no power and feels unable to exit a service relationship. This study aims to explore how positive service experiences can contribute to service captivity in the alternative financial services (AFS) sector for consumers experiencing financial vulnerability. Design/methodology/approach A total of 31 interviews were undertaken with Australian consumers of payday loans and/or consumer leases. Findings The authors reveal a typology of consumers based on their financial vulnerability and their experience with AFS providers. Then they present three themes relating to how the marketing practices of these providers create a positive service experience, and, in doing so, can contribute to service captivity for consumers experiencing financial vulnerability. Research limitations/implications The benefits derived from positive service experiences, including accessible solutions, self-esteem, and a sense of control over their financial situation, contribute to the service captivity of some consumers, rendering alternative avenues less attractive. Practical implications AFS providers must ensure a socially responsible approach to their marketing practices to minimize potentially harmful outcomes for consumers. However, a systems-level approach is needed to tackle the wider issue of financial precarity. Policymakers need to address the marketplace gaps, regulatory frameworks and social welfare policies that contribute to both vulnerability and captivity. Originality/value This research extends the understanding of service captivity by demonstrating how positive service experiences can perpetuate this situation. Further, specific solutions are proposed at each level of the service system to address service captivity in the AFS sector.

The Role of Fintech Firms in Contemporary Financial Sector Development

The development of new technologies provided by Information and communication technologies, robotics, artificial intelligence and their application have an essential influence on the business model of the financial sector companies. Changes are taking place through a variety of technology processes in different industries of the financial sector such as payment systems (including cryptocurrencies, smart chaining), customer acquisition and management, crowdfunding, P2P lending. The aim of the research is to study the role of Fintech firms in the changes in the financial sector landscape, as well dynamics of changes in investments in Fintech by regions and by segments. This study provides empirical evidence on the development of alternative financial services and their role in the development of the financial sector. Based on the research results there is strong evidence about statistically significant difference between investments allocated to Fintech firms by regions and vintage. There have been changes in the regional distribution of investment, with North America (85-90%) dominating in the first years of the decade, and Asia and the Pacific accounting for more than a third and Europe for more than 20% of total investment in recent years. Contemporary statistics data analysis also indicates different trends in investments in various Fintech segments by years.

Only Sharks in the Tank

This chapter explores the coordinated relationship between banks and payday lenders by examining the recent attempts of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to regulate the payday lenders in Kansas City. While payday lenders and other higher-cost alternative financial services are criticized for their predatory practices, banks often escape a similar level of scrutiny despite their punishing fee structures and risk-based calculations. Both banks and payday lenders have largely escaped federal oversight. The disproportionate harms inflicted by payday lenders on Black and Brown communities are often treated as tolerable, perhaps considered causualties of doing business to dismiss these lenders from the oversight they deserve.

Behavioural and Psychological Factors That Influence the Usage of Formal Financial Services Among the Low Income Households

The emerging economies need to frame and implement effective financial inclusion policies for sustainable development and growth. Recent initiative of India that every Low Income Households (LIHs) has a bank account is a sweeping success; but the flipside is that half of these accounts are either inactive or less active, which raises concern. In this context, this research attempts to identify the behavioural and psychological factors that influence the usage of formal financial services (FFS) among LIHs in India. Theory of Planned Behaviour is used as the base theoretical model, in which ‘Habit’ was introduced as a moderating variable that interacts with Behavioural Intention to influence Actual Usage. Data was collected from 253 respondents and analysed using SmartPLS 3.0. This study revealed that the exogenous variables Attitude, Subjective Norms, Perceived Behavioural Control positively influenced the intention to use FFS; moreover, Habit negatively moderated the BI-AU relationship. Therefore, the policy makers on financial inclusion drive may consider these identified factors in their mission to improve the usage of FFS among LIHs, and to curtail the informal or alternative financial services.

The Negative Association between Alternative Financial Services Usage and Financial Well-Being: Variations by Income

As reliance on alternative financial services (AFS) usage continues its exponential expansion among American families, policy debates over banking regulation perdure with limited empirical understanding of how usage affects individuals’ financial lives. Using data from the 2014 Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking, this study explored the association between AFS use and financial well-being using a nationally representative sample (N = 5,896). It also examined the role of household income in AFS use and its relation to financial well-being. Results from regression analyses indicated that AFS use was negatively associated with present financial security measured by credit score, making ends meet, subjective financial well-being, and credit card payment, and that future financial security was measured by having an emergency fund and a rainy-day fund. Moreover, the interaction models showed that lower-income groups had the most negative associations between AFS and most financial well-being indicators, suggesting a substantive role of income in exacerbating the negative relationships. This was the first known study linking use of AFS and household financial well-being with a focus on the role of income. The article concludes with a discussion of implications for policy and social work practice.