Market-Reinforcing versus Market-Replacing Consumer Finance Regulation

Abstract

The aftermath of the financial crisis has seen the formation of several new banking regulators and an onslaught of new financial regulation. In the area of consumer financial protection bureau these regulations have resuscitated the regulatory approach of prior eras, namely substantive regulation of the prices, terms, and products offered to consumers. But these regulations have also resulted in predictable unintended consequences — higher prices, reduced innovation, and exclusion of many consumers from mainstream financial products. This chapter drawn from the book Reframing Financial Regulation: Enhancing Stability and Protecting Consumers, distinguishes between two types of regulatory approaches, “market-reinforcing” and “market-replacing” consumer finance regulation, and argues that consumer welfare would be improved by a regulatory strategy that makes markets work better instead of displacing them with command-and-control regulation.

Keywords: Consumer Finance, Consumer Protection, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Dodd-Frank, Credit Cards

JEL Classification: D18, G21, G28