The current debate in the United Kingdom about the appropriate regulatory response to payday lending involves the key issue of borrower vulnerability. There is compelling evidence in the UK that many payday lenders are deliberately making loans to financially vulnerable borrowers who cannot...

The regulation of payday lending in Australia has recently been reformed. The reforms followed a highly charged and polarised debate between the conflicting interests of consumer and welfare advocates — who argued for increased protection for payday loan borrowers — and the payday loan...

The authors examine the influence of behavioural research upon economic policy-making, as it relates to the regulation of consumer credit and consumer financial services. Using the examples of credit cards in the United States and Australia, and retirement savings' infrastructure in the United...

This article discusses a trend towards increased empiricism in enforcement reporting by financial regulators that emphasises greater use of numerical indicators. The article examines how the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the...

This paper explores important issues relating to regulatory coordination and integration in the international financial system. Coordination in a regulatory context refers to coordination between regulators in different jurisdictions to achieve desired regulatory outcomes, including effective...

Over the last two decades, Australia has developed a unique legal and regulatory framework for collective investments, including mutual funds. This framework is built around a single “responsible entity” that combines the role of the fund sponsor and adviser with that of the trustee. This...

In recent years there has been a renewed emphasis on improving the regulatory frameworks of financial systems in part as a response to the global financial crisis. This has included a focus on how institutional design can promote financial stability. Support for the continued importance of...

This paper is one of a series of working papers that explore various aspects of Australia's system of financial regulation and the relevance of its experience to reform in other countries. Adopting a broad perspective that outlines the context in which the system operates in Australia, it...

Various explanations have been advanced for why shareholder protection looks the way that it does. These explanations include varieties of capitalism, legal origins and various configurations of social interests. When compared with the United States and the United Kingdom, Australian corporate...

As China's financial system has become more complex and integrated, calls have intensified for structural reform. In particular, many commentators have called for China to move towards the twin peaks model of financial regulation along the lines of the experience in Australia. This paper...