Personal Debt in Europe

Federico Ferretti is Associate Professor in Economic Law and Financial Markets, Department of Sociology and Economic Law, University of Bologna (Italy) and a member of the Financial Services User Group of the European Commission. He is a qualified lawyer of the High Courts of Italy. Daniela Vandone is Full Professor of Banking and Finance, Department of Economics, Management, and Quantitative Methods, University of Milan. Her research interests are in financial markets and institutions, with a focus in the microeconomics of banking, financial regulation, financial decision-making, household finance, personal debt, and over-indebtedness.

• 1. Introduction; 2. Personal debt in the economy; 3. The industry of personal debt; 4. From indebtedness to over-indebtedness: multidimensional causes and consequences; 5. EU policy and law for the prevention and management of over-indebtedness; 6. The role and function of solvency data and financial technologies; 7. Credit risk analysis and creditworthiness in relation to EU data protection legislation; 8. The treatment of over-indebtedness: towards a harmonisation of personal insolvency law in a fragmented EU?; 9. Conclusions and scope for further research.