Continued opportunities for credit intermediation

The plan establishes that indebtedness weakens people's independence and that regulation of loan terms shall be based on our common needs rather than financial capital's, and requires harder regulation of banks' societal-impact activities. An exception that lets credit brokers continue without the same requirements as credit providers opens precisely the gap the plan wants to close and risks continued aggressive marketing toward the economically vulnerable.

• indebtedness weakens independencedecisive»Skuldsättning försvagar många människors självständighet och« (party programme ↗)“Indebtedness weakens many people's independence and”
• regulation of loan terms»Regleringen av lånevillkor behöver utgå från« (party programme ↗)“Regulation of loan terms needs to be based on”
• needs before financial capital»våra gemensamma behov snarare än finanskapitalets.« (party programme ↗)“our common needs rather than financial capital's.”
• harder banking regulation»Tills dess behövs en hårdare reglering av bankernas« (party programme ↗)“Until then, harder regulation of banks'”

The plan does not address credit brokerage. The closest principle is the party programme's requirement for democratic counterweights and stable market rules, and that democracy has the supreme right to set the framework for the economy. Allowing brokers to continue without the same requirements as credit providers opens just the loophole that undermines consumer protection. The plan therefore speaks against the counter-proposal's requirement.

• democratic counterweights against the marketdecisive»Det krävs demokratiska motvikter för att skapa de stabila spelregler som behövs för att« (party programme ↗)“Democratic counterweights are required to create the stable rules that are needed to”
• democracy sets the framework»den överordnade rätten att ange villkor och ramar för ekonomin.« (party programme ↗)“the supreme right to set conditions and framework for the economy.”
• respect for household finances»Den ekonomiska politiken behöver bedrivas med stor varsamhet och respekt för vanliga hushålls ekonomi.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Economic policy needs to be conducted with great care and respect for ordinary households' finances.”

The counter-proposal wants to let credit brokers continue without the tightened requirements. The party programme states that greed and over-indebtedness shall be counteracted, that too high private debt is a risk for the individual and the economy and that consumer protection shall be strong. The plan therefore speaks against an exemption that hollows out protection.

• counteract over-indebtednessdecisive»Girighet, överskuldsättning och spekulation ska motverkas.« (party programme ↗)“Greed, over-indebtedness and speculation shall be counteracted.”
• risk with high indebtedness»En alltför hög privat skuldsättning är en risk för individen och för samhällsekonomin.« (party programme ↗)“Too high private debt is a risk for the individual and the economy.”
• strong consumer protection»Vi vill ha ett starkt skydd för konsumenterna genom god konsumentvägledning, tydlig märkning av varor och tjänster och en relevant konsumentutbildning i skolan.« (party programme ↗)“We want strong consumer protection through good consumer guidance, clear labelling of goods and services and relevant consumer education in school.”
• sound market conditions»Staten ska genom lagstiftning och övervakning se till att sunda villkor råder på marknaden.« (party programme ↗)“The state shall through legislation and supervision ensure that sound conditions prevail on the market.”

The plan says nothing about credit intermediation, but it consistently requires that regulatory red tape be cleaned up for businesses large and small and that the market economy be free from command-economy directives with given and predictable rules. Forcing intermediaries to run banking or financing operations is a threshold that eliminates smaller players and reduces competition. The conclusion is therefore derived from general business policy principles.

• regulatory simplification for businessdecisive»Rensa upp i regelträsket för entreprenörer, stora som små. Vi vill införa en ny och förenklad företagsform för mikroföretag, så att fler ska våga testa att driva företag.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Clean up the regulatory red tape for entrepreneurs, large and small. We want to introduce a new and simplified business form for microenterprises, so that more people dare to try running a business.”
• predictable rules»Ekonomin ska ha givna och förutsägbara spelregler« (party programme ↗)“The economy should have given and predictable rules”
• freer markets and competition»Genom att skapa friare marknader och förbättra konkurrensen kan vi dämpa priserna ytterligare.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“By creating freer markets and improving competition, we can further dampen prices.”

flags: citat_blockerat

The plan establishes that private power can also be abused and that market economy requires rules, and that the individual's position shall be strengthened through improved consumer and contract legislation. An exception that allows credit intermediaries to escape lender requirements opens the door to aggressive marketing against those already in debt. The plan thus speaks against the counter-proposal's requirement, although the regulatory burden should generally decrease.

• stronger consumer protectiondecisive»vardagen behöver stärkas genom förbättrad konsument- och avtalslagstiftning.« (party programme ↗)“everyday life needs to be strengthened through improved consumer and contract legislation.”
• rules against abuse»Även den privata makten kan missbrukas. Marknadsekonomin kräver spelregler för att« (party programme ↗)“Private power can also be abused. Market economy requires rules for”
• help for the over-indebted»Reglerna för skuldsanering ska ändras så att överskuldsatta får större möjlighet att bli skuldfria.« (party programme ↗)“The rules for debt relief shall be changed so that the over-indebted get greater opportunity to become debt-free.”
• lower regulatory burden»Regelbördan för små företag ska minska, genom ansträngningar på både kommunal, statlig och« (party programme ↗)“The regulatory burden for small businesses shall decrease, through efforts at municipal, state, and”

The plan requires active and well-informed consumers and effective legal rules, and makes it a state role to oversee that legislation and good ethics are upheld in the market. To let credit brokers continue without corresponding requirements opens exactly the path around consumer protection that the plan wants to close. The requirement that laws be tested from a small-business perspective weighs against but does not carry the counter-proposal.

• strong consumer protectiondecisive»En fungerande marknadsekonomi kräver aktiva och välinformerade konsumenter samt effektiva rättsliga spelregler. En väl utbyggd konsumentinformation är nödvändig.« (party programme ↗)“A functioning market economy requires active and well-informed consumers and effective legal rules. Well-developed consumer information is necessary.”
• state market oversight»Statens roll i näringspolitiken är att övervaka att lagstiftningen och en god etik upprätthålls på marknaden.« (party programme ↗)“The state's role in business policy is to oversee that legislation and good ethics are upheld in the market.”
• ethics as foundation of market»En väl fungerande marknadsekonomi förutsätter en effektiv konkurrens, stabila institutioner och etiskt handlande. I annat fall hotas tilltron till marknadsekonomin.« (party programme ↗)“A well-functioning market economy presupposes effective competition, stable institutions and ethical conduct. Otherwise trust in the market economy is threatened.”
• small-business perspective»Tillkommande lagar bör prövas ur ett småföretagarperspektiv.« (party programme ↗)“New laws should be tested from a small-business perspective.”

The plan does not address credit intermediation or consumer credit. The closest principle is that conditions for starting, growing and expanding should be good and that one third of red tape and companies' administration costs should be removed, together with the party programme's strong protection of business freedom. Allowing credit intermediaries to continue without requirements for banking or financing operations lies closest to these principles, but the conclusion is derived.

• good conditions for businessdecisive»Villkoren för att starta, växa och expandera behöver vara goda för att fler ska våga lämna trygga och välbetalda jobb för att starta företag.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Conditions for starting, growing and expanding need to be good so that more dare to leave secure and well-paid jobs to start companies.”
• reduced red tape»Ta bort en tredjedel av företagens administrationskostnader och en tredjedel av regelkrånglet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Remove one third of companies' administration costs and one third of red tape”
• strong business freedom»Äganderätten och näringsfriheten ska ha ett starkt skydd« (party programme ↗)“Property rights and business freedom shall have strong protection”
• market economy's responsibility»Marknadsekonomin främjar hushållning, ansvar, kreativitet och långsiktighet.« (party programme ↗)“The market economy promotes husbandry, responsibility, creativity and long-termism.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan does not address consumer credit or credit intermediation. The nearest principle is that unnecessary regulations should be removed where the costs to companies do not justify the benefit to society, which presupposes that social benefit is weighed in, and that the market economy should be responsibly regulated. That credit intermediaries be exempted from the toughened requirements therefore lacks support in the plan.

• rules weighed against social benefitdecisive»För att få fler och växande företag är det viktigt att ta bort onödiga regler där kostnaderna för företagen inte motsvarar nyttan för samhället.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“To get more and growing companies it is important to remove unnecessary rules where the costs to companies do not justify the benefit to society.”
• responsibly regulated market»reglerad marknadsekonomi, byggd på långsiktigt tänkande, är för oss självklar.« (party programme ↗)“responsible market economy, built on long-term thinking, is self-evident to us.”
• cost-effective rules»Nya regler ska vara kostnadseffektiva och befintliga regler behöver ses över.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“New rules shall be cost-effective and existing rules need to be reviewed.”