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Ah_sa
为什么信用卡市场竞争激烈,但收入可观呢?
zecon
还有哪些商品市场竞争激烈,但收入可观呢?
Ah_sa
U.S. Credit Card Market
- 4000 firms,
- homogeneous good,
- 75 million consumers,
- 10 largest firms' share is 2/5.
- Without regulatory barrier. No entry barrier. No explicit collusion.
It seems to be a highly competitive market.
However, some estimated that returns from credit card business were several times grater than the ordinary rate of return in banking dyring 1983-1988.
多看看
也许是成本和利润的计算方式造成的？发行的信用卡的成本计算也许是不完全的，因为很多相关的金融产品和商业服务是为信用卡的发行提供支持的，而这些成本并没有能很好的计算入发行的成本中。特别是某些发行信用卡的银行，很多的传统业务为信用卡的使用提供支持，信用卡的成本有可能被低估。这种情况也许有点类似火电厂的蒸汽用于供暖，如果单独计算，火电厂提供暖气的利润率比其发电所能挣到的高很多倍，但这种计算方式可能是不准确的。
毕竟象竞争激烈而收入可观这种事对于我来讲是很难以接受的。 Ah_sa 有什么解释？
rongzhao
It is more likely to be an oligopoly situation. I feel that the credit card industry has a charater of economy in scale.The more you supply, the cheaper the average price is.
Certainly, this argument will immediately affront the fact that there are so many firms existing in the industry. Theoratically, the economy in scale will lead to merging in the industry.
How to explain this countradiction? The answer lies in the character of credit card issuing. As I know, the issuing of credit cards is always based on the business the firms have been involved in. In some specific area, the firm may have some monopoly powers based on its business power.
Then comes to the profitability of the industry, would you please provide some data which shows that credit card issuing has an apparent higher profit? The enthusiasm in which the outsiders enter the industry doesn't mean there is a higher profit here. It maybe just means that they have to. As Stigler has mentioned, the monopoly of automobiles has the incentive to enter the financing area partly because it will increase its profit in automobiles by moving the demand curve upward.
Maybe I didn't make my idea very clear. Please forgive me using English.
You really have a good sense in the economy. Admire!
zecon
信用卡收入可观——>市场竞争激烈
10 largest firms' share is 2/5，totally 4000 firms
虽然市场竞争激烈，但这种（垄断竞争）市场状况能维持，看来也是处于一种动态的均衡吧。
这种市场状况恐怕不是信用卡市场独有的吧，其他行业也有类似情况。
信用卡的发卡费用低（技术进步使然），
获利较高
（利率要高于一般银行贷款利率很多，中国就是如此，美国应该也差不多吧），
（但风险也存在）
市场准入门槛（entry barrier）低
（中国就不是这样，好像还没有独立的信用卡公司，都是银行的），
导致市场竞争激烈。
信用卡公司属于金融机构的一种，
通过发行信用卡，对持卡消费者给与一定信贷支持，
因而是一种专门的信贷机构（外国的财务公司同属这一类型），
消费信贷机构。
商业银行一般都有自己的信用卡部门，
有的将其独立注册为公司（集团内的子公司）。
其他非依托于银行的信用卡公司则是独立的私人信贷机构。
eyiu
并不是 homogeneous, 不计每一个发行商的行业地位, 咭本身的设计, 构图, visa 或 master(各地方的流行程度不同), 以 points 换取的 礼品, 申讲时送的礼品, 年费, 物品购买後所包括的保险等等等等不计, 每一机构所发的签账限额, 每一客户的信用如何, 客户银行里有没有钱, 客户已拥有信用咭是多少, 怎可以说是homogeneous 呢?
有没有关於, 平均每张信用咭的签账是多少,毛利是多少, 推广每一张信用咭的成本 (例如推出一张 Hello Kitty 的信用咭所需的版权费, 用自己的品牌也应计算在内), 每张咭的平均撇账是多少, 撇账率有没有上升, variances 如何, 当地的破产法例严谨吗, 这方面的资料?
没有的话又怎能说这是利润奇高呢?
Ah_sa
I read the materials many years ago. It is in an 1991 AER paper "The Failure of Competition in the Credit Card Market" by L.M. Ausubel.
The details I have forgotten. Here are the notes I made when I read the paper:
1.Charge Volume(75 bn in 1987)
- half of the total charge volume was charged on MasterCard & Visa credit cards.
- volume growing at over 10% per year
2.Borrowing (outstanding US balances on revolvong credit account 203 bn in 1989)
3.Most business decisions are made at the level of issuing bank:
-interest rate, annual fee, grace period, credit limit determined by individual banks
-''interchange fee'' are standardized
4.Unconcentrated market:
- top 10 control 2/5 of the mkt, next 10 control 1/10.
5.Broad Mkt:
- bank ranked 100 had 160000 active account, 125mil outstanding balances, 250mil annual charge volume.
6.Free of interstate banking and branch banking restrictions.
7.Price regulation (usury laws) eliminated by 1978 Marquette decision.
8.credit card interest rates were highly sticky during the period 1982-1989.
Ah_sa
In the paper I mentioned above, the author carefully examined all the numbers, and concludes that "card issuers earning hugh profit" is not true. The idea is that credit card issuers do not compete by price (interest rate) but by non-price elements (eg. adverisement)
So the remaining puzzle is:
Why do credit card charge an interest premium of over 10% and dissipate it by non-price competition?
There are many card holders who actually use credit card as a borrowing tools (in the US, many consumer bankruptcies are due to credit card loans). These people may want to have 5% reduction in card rate than having a Hello Kitty on the card.
In a market with free entrance, why don't some new issuers enter and charge a much lower interest rate and get all the above customers?
One possibility is "Adverse Selection": lowering interest rate will attract those customers with bad credit risks and lack less expensive alternatives. As a result, the average quality of the pool of card holders will be lower --> higher default rate.
eyiu
"Why do credit card charge an interestpremium of over 10% and dissipate it by non-price competition?"
资本主义就是那样运作嘛! 资本主义从来不反对非价格竞争行为. 只有共产才会不容许价格竞争.
你去酒店饮一杯咖啡, 吃一件三文治, 可能是一百元以上, 那又怎能和街上十元三文治套餐相比?
要注意一点, 信用咭收入主要不是收买了东西欠钱的人的利息, 而是当你用信用咭买东西时银行会收商户的货物价钱的一个百份比(香港如果是小商户一般会收 3% 的交易费).
如果你是在免息期内还钱, 银行是不会收利息的.
一般的情况是, 如果有人欠信用咭债, 如果是有能力还款, 只是周转不灵, 那人可以向银行申请以私人债务代替信用咭债务, 当然要和那人作出财务评估, 例如有没有收入, 有没有其他债务等等. 如果那人这些都不做, 那就可能是说明那人的财政有问题, 在没有其他抵押物品的情况下, 银行收高息不为过.
在香港是有其他购物的工具, 例如 debt card,EPS, 什至八达通也可以, 但这些不是以信贷的形式去购物, 是银行里有钱才可以购物, 所以不会有高息的问题. 但这些"工具"不曾取代信用咭, 而是共生(我就不喜欢用信用咭, 有EPS 我会用 EPS), 那也是资本主义同样物品的多样性质共存的一种特徵. 爱好不同, 竞争的方法也不同, 不能一概是以价格竞争, 如只以价格竞争, 生意必败无疑!
zecon
银行里有钱才可以购物的卡，是debit card 借记卡
其功能可形容为电子钱包，但不能透支。
eyiu
多谢指正, 一时打错.
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用逆向选择来解释高息问题似乎不太好。
逆向选择不能通过高息来防止，反而高息会加重逆向选择的后果。而且逆向选择在普通的贷款市场也存在，同是逆向选择，很难解释为什么信用卡的利息较高。减轻逆向选择的办法只有增加信息费用的开支，如严格对借款人的资格审查等。但为什么信用卡的利息较高？也许是因为信用卡的信用审查的花费很大，普通贷款的金额一般较大，而信用卡的金额较少，但同样需要逐笔审核。同样一美元的贷款额，也许信用卡的信息成本更高。而且一美元贷款的管理成本，如追踪客户的财务状况、催收还款、调拨头寸等，可能也是信用卡的为高。
以上只是一种猜测，也许是错的。如果信用卡的利息水平较高是一个普遍的现象，那么信用卡的发行机构也许有不得不如此做的原因，而且这个原因应该还是比较明显的。如果能够多搜集资料，直接向信用卡从业人员提问，应该有比较好的答案。
渔夫
4.Unconcentrated market:
- top 10 control 2/5 of the mkt, next 10 control 1/10.
5.Broad Mkt:
- bank ranked 100 had 160000 active account, 125mil outstanding balances, 250mil annual charge volume.
From the above data, I think the credit market is a dominant-competitive market rather that a competitive one.
huangliang
可以用边际费用来考虑吧。在发卡前，基础设施已经投入了，发卡边际成本小的可怜。一架飞机有10个空位，机票原价500元，机长会不会以100元来卖票呢？显然会的。
而信用卡只要你有消费，银行就可以从你这里还有商家那里收费。这种当然是利润可观了。利润远大于成本。要是你透支的话，可是几十倍的收益率。
