STATUS ARTIS DE LA ÉTICA EMPRESARIAL EN EL SIGLO

295 _{See 5.2, Table B, Note (b) above.}

296 _{See 5.2, Table B, Note (c) above, in which over 73% of total repayments made are utilised towards}

the payment of interest in most cases.

297 _{The cost of credit will be 46% on this loan. See Table P, Example 1 above.}

298 _{Interest at 5% per month (R50) + initiation fee at R150 + 5% interest (R157) + service fee (R50) =}

total monthly cost of credit (R257, or 25,7% per month of initial loan of R1000).

In Table S below the new cost of credit is applied to a number of loan amounts.300

Table S: Illustration of the application of the new cost of credit to one-month loans and resultant debt spiral

Month Loan amount Cost of credit301 Re-payment amount Income Example A 1 R200 R92 R292 R820 (old age pension) 2 R292 R107 R399 3 R399 R133 R532 4 R532 R161 R693 5 R693 R194 R887 Example B 1 R500 R154 R654 R1 000 (wage) 2 R654 R186 R840 3 R840 R225 1065 Example C 1 R1 000 R257 R1 257 R2 000 (wage) 2 R1 257 R311 R1 568 3 R1 568 R375 R1 943

In Example A, by Month 2 the loan repayment is already double the initial loan. By Month 3 the pensioner’s loan repayment (R532) amounts to 65% of his monthly pension of R820. By Month 5, the loan repayment (R887) exceeds the pension. In Example B, by Month 3 the loan repayment (R1 065) has already exceeded the worker’s wage of R1 000, and the loan repayment in Month 3 in Example C almost exceeds the total wage.

Table S confirms that debt spirals and debt traps will continue to occur on a wide scale when the new cost of credit is applied, and could prove to be one of its greatest dangers.

300 _{This table is similar to Table C, Chapter Five above in which the debt spiral was demonstrated in the}

case of loans currently exempt from the Usury Act.

301 _{In each case the cost of credit is calculated as follows: Interest at 5% per month + initiation fee at}

6.4.6.4 Over-indebtedness and poverty

The vast majority of borrowers of micro-loans are from low income groups,302 _and

levels of indebtedness and consumption debt are increasing in the poorest households.303 _{Further, the poorest households carry the greatest debt servicing}

burden.304 _{All of this has been discussed at length in Chapter Five in relation to the}

impact of current interest rates exempt from the Usury Act. The excessive cost of credit on smaller short-term loans in terms of the National Credit Act will ensure that these trends continue, and will contribute to the perpetuation of poverty.

6.4.7

Suggested amendments to the Regulations

For the reasons set out above, the overall cost of credit is too high for all loans of less than about R5 000, and becomes more and more expensive the smaller the loan.305 The cost of all short-term loans is too high, once again the more so the smaller the loan.306 _{Finally, the costs of the initiation and service fees are far too high}

relative to interest, negating the gains made in interest rate reduction307 _{and masking}

the true cost of credit.308 _{Changes to the credit costing structure should therefore aim}

to reduce the overall cost of credit on all loans less than R5 000 (especially short- term loans). This can be achieved primarily by significantly reducing the cost of the initiation and service fees, if they are to be retained at all, and reducing the maximum limit on the size of short-term loans. A number of amendments to the regulations that the Minister could adopt are therefore suggested below.

6.4.7.1 Remove or reduce the initiation fee

The reason for the introduction of the initiation fee is not clear. Its purpose, whether it be to provide compensation for disbursements and/or fees for profit, is obscure and therefore questionable.309 _{Unless its purpose can be satisfactorily justified, then it}

should be removed. It will not be practicable to implement an initiation fee with closer

302 _{MFRC “Submission to the Portfolio Committee on Indebtedness” (Appendix para 5.1).}

303 _{Human Sciences Research Council “Household Indebtedness in South Africa in 1995 and 2000” 5–9.} 304 _{According to the Human Sciences Research Council “Household Indebtedness in South Africa in}

1995 and 2000” 7–8, 60,2% of regular disposable income of households in the poorest income category (less than R5 000 per year) was used to service debt in 2000.

305 _{6.4.5.3 (a) to (e) above.} 306 _{6.4.5.3 (f) above.} 307 _{6.4.5.3 (g) above.} 308 _{6.4.5.3 (h) above.} 309 _{See 6.4.2 above.}

reference to disbursements incurred, and credit providers could be permitted to charge reasonable disbursements incurred on presentment of an invoice.310

If the initiation fee can be justified and must remain for good reason, then it must be reduced considerably. The envisaged initiation fee will make an enormous contribution to the total cost of credit on smaller loans,311 _{and is therefore a major}

factor in maintaining high credit costs. The following reduction is therefore proposed: (a) The maximum initiation fee on both short term and unsecured credit

transactions should be reduced to R50 per credit agreement, plus 5% of the amount in excess of R1 000, but never to exceed R1 000.312

(b) The initiation fee may never exceed 5% of the total principal debt (reduced from 15%).313

The effect of this proposed reduction is demonstrated in Table T below, which can be compared with Table M above since the same size loan amounts have been used.

Table T: Effect of proposed lower initiation fees on different size loans

Loan amount Initiation fee Initiation fee as a percentage of loan amount Method of calculation R200 R10 5% 5% of R200 R500 R25 5% 5% of R500 R1 000 R50 5% 5% of R1 000 R2 000 R100 5% R50 + R50 (5% of R1 000, which is the amount in excess of R1 000) R5 000 R250 5% R50 + R200 (5% of R4 000, which is the amount in excess of R1 000) R8 000 R400 5% R50 + R350 (5% of R7 000, which is the amount in excess of R1 000) R20 000 R1 000 5% R50 + R950 (5% of R19 000, which is the amount in excess of R1 000) Loans greater than R20 000

R1 000 Less than 5% The maximum limit [reg 42(2)]

310 _{The type of disbursements that may be recovered could be listed in the regulations, and should not}

include minor expenses such as photocopying, telephone calls and stationery. This approach could, however, introduce a degree of uncertainty and the potential for abuse, so a regulated initiation fee may still be necessary.

311 _{Between 28% and 105% of the total cost of credit in the case of short-term loans (Table P, Examples}

3 and 2).

312 _{Compare reg 43(2).} 313 _{Compare reg 43(3).}

6.4.7.2 Remove or reduce the service fee

The “flat rate” service fee of R50 per month on all credit agreements results in the service fee on small loans being way out of proportion to the loan amount, increasingly so the smaller the loan.314 _{The service fee is too high for loans less than}

R5 000, and exorbitant for loans less than R500. Further, there is an enormous disparity between the cost of the service fee relative to bigger loan amounts on the one hand, and the cost of the service fee relative to smaller loan amounts on the other hand.315 _{The service fee on a loan of R10 000 will be 0,5% per month of the}

loan amount, whilst the service fee on a loan of R200 will be 25% per month. This disparity is untenable, being unfair and discriminatory, and having terrible consequences for borrowers of small amounts, who are invariably very poor.

The Act in any event provides that the service fee “must not exceed the prescribed amount relative to the principal debt”.316 _{The term “relative” can have no other}

meaning than that the service fee should be proportionate to the principal debt, which is the foundational principle underlying percentages and interest, and the regulations thus appear to be ultra vires. That being so, why should there be a service fee at all which is measured, for example, at 1% of the principal debt? A better approach would be to scrap the service fee altogether on short-term loans, and raise the interest rate by the desired amount, if indeed this is necessary. The resultant advantages would be that the cost of credit would be simpler to understand for both the lender and the borrower, easier to administer, and the actual cost of the debt will not be obscured.

Should it be found necessary to retain the service fee for good reason,317 _{then it must}

be considerably reduced relative to the initial loan amount. In order to combat the disparities referred to above, the regulations could be amended to provide for a service fee at a percentage of the loan amount (eg 1% per month), subject to a

minimum fee (eg R10 per month) and a maximum fee (eg R50 per month).318