Asia Pacific is the largest region globally by card payment value and is projected to gain share going forward. Payment policy is playing an increasing role in driving the rate at which consumer payments are transitioning to paper alternatives. This ...

The decision of UK citizens to leave the European Union shocked the world and the global economy. However, the consequences of the country abandoning the Union remain unclear. The UK economy recorded a negative performance after the Brexit vote in ...

Consumer lending in Malaysia continued to expand in 2016, albeit at a slightly slower pace than in 2015. This continued expansion was mainly attributable to the positive development of card lending, with many Malaysians borrowing more on credit cards...

In 2011 when the government launched the first car tax reduction campaign, high demand for cars was subsequently evident. After 2011 demand significantly dropped. In 2015, outstanding balance for auto lending posted growth after a year of decline due...

Sweden's central bank, Sveriges Riksbank, adopted a negative interest rate policy from early-2015 with the rate dropping further at the start of 2016. This strategy aimed to boost consumer spending and boost the economy. Within consumer lending, the ...

The Taiwanese government reduced its cap on credit card interest rates from 19% to 15% in the second half of 2015. In addition, Taiwan’s central bank also cut official interest rates three times between the third quarter of 2015 and mid-2016 in a bid...

In 2016, consumer credit encountered fluctuations in consumer behaviour. Despite the improving economic situation in the country, Poles continued to be more hesitant about spending on consumer goods and services in the aftermath of the 2009 economic ...

Owners of undeveloped land will be subject to tax, as approved by the cabinet, which may result in greater investment for the next couple of years. These measures seek to control housing shortages and reduce monopolies, and force owners to sell, ...

Thanks to the continued expansion of the domestic economy, tax cuts and other government policies, the spending power of Hungarian households improved towards the end of the review period. Growth in incomes, declining unemployment rates and a more ...

Higher usage of credit cards by consumers in the Czech Republic positively impacted the performance of consumer credit in 2016 in both gross lending and outstanding balance. A higher volume of transactions has caused a higher share of the retail ...

Although thousands of employees lost their jobs due to the bankruptcy of a couple of big retail chains at the start 2016, the unemployment rate continues to decline. Consumer confidence also improved in the latter years of the review period and ...

Consumer lending outstanding balance and gross lending have seen stable growth in 2016 in current value terms. Mortgage/housing, home lending and other personal lending continue to record strong performances while education lending declines. As ...

In 2016, consumer lending maintained its strong performance thanks to the improving economy. With rising incomes, Vietnamese people are more willing to spend money in order to improve their living standards and level of comfort. Leveraging this ...

The numbers of consumers signing up for new mortgages increased over the course of 2016, mainly due to the fact that interest rates declined sharply as the Euribor, the most commonly used reference index for the calculations of mortgage interest ...

Following a sequence of 11 rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) since 2011, the RBA further cut the cash rate to 1.50% in August 2016 citing low inflation as the trigger. The RBA then commented on how low interest rates and lower exchange...

Although no robust growth rates were registered in 2016, healthy to moderate growth was observed for most categories of consumer lending in the US. Growth was driven by a stable economic environment, lender strategies and consumers’ confidence. ...

2016 was another great year for consumer lending in the Philippines which recorded double-digit growth. The domestic economic condition showed moderate growth with political stability thanks to the presidential election in the first half of 2016. ...

The outstanding balance on consumer lending in Turkey continued to grow strongly in current value terms in 2016 thanks to the easing of certain regulatory restrictions and the downward trend in interest rates. Additionally, promotional activities by ...

Despite the gloomy economic outlook, consumer credit maintained positive growth rates in current terms, supported by increases in mortgages and credit card interest payments. Consumer credit gross lending posted current value growth but the number of...

In 2016, the business environment in Egypt deteriorated with the rise in political instability due to declining economic conditions. The country witnessed a significant decline in foreign currency inflows from the main revenue streams. As a result, ...