The Law and Economics of Secured Lending

Description

How can it be that people and businesses are ever unable to obtain credit Why do lenders not simply increase the interest rate for high-risk borrowers And if increased interest rates can39;t solve the problem, then surely the use of collateral can As it turns out, things are not that simple. It seems that the laws of supply and demand do not fully apply to the credit market low interest rates attract high demand, a part of which is never met, no matter what the interest rate. What is more, excessive interest rates seem to exacerbate the problem. Common knowledge holds that security interests provide at least a part of the answer, and yet economic theory has been ambiguous about them, to say the least.This book provides an in-depth analysis of both the general economic theory of secured lending, as well as the very concrete and detailed aspects of the legal framework in which it takes place, in Belgium and the United States. Legal practitioners will find a deeper economic understanding of how credit works, and answers to legal questions that no traditional, inside-the-box legal handbook will ever ask. Economists will find theory applied to, and checked by, the legal reality in which they necessarily operate, down to minute detail.DR. FREDERIC HELSEN 1988 studied law, economics and business administration bachelor, KU Leuven, 2009 and law master, KU Leuven and Duke Law School, 2011. He then obtained a PhD from the Law Faculty of KU Leuven in 2016, after research stays at Harvard Law School 2014-2015 and Berkeley School of Law 2015 as a fellow of Fulbright and the BAEF. During this period, he also obtained his master39;s degree in Notary law from VUB in 2014. In 2021, he was appointed a notary, and is currently a partner in the leading Brussels-based firm Berquin Notaries.