TY  - JOUR
AB  - Purpose The purpose of this paper is to highlight opportunities for the banking sector arising from the population’s aging and the expected reduction in pension incomes. Home equity conversion (HEC) instruments are a potentially useful way of restoring households’ finances and satisfying their needs, with implications for the demand for financial services.Design/methodology/approach By using an ordered probit regression model, the paper analyzes data obtained from a survey of 2,000 Italian households.Findings The main finding of this paper is that individuals with greater familiarity with consumer credit, a cognitive and decision-making approach favorable to use of credit, and an internal locus of control show greater interest in various forms of equity conversion.Originality/value This paper extends the analysis of the determinants of individuals’ interest in HEC products. It focuses more closely than the existing literature on households’ credit behaviors, attitudes toward credit and locus of control. The paper helps identify the potential targets of marketing campaigns and commercial proposals, and highlights the levers that the banks can focus on in communicating with customers and future prospects. Moreover, this paper suggests that there is a need to develop greater awareness on the part of people who could be interested in these products. Therefore, appropriate financial education projects should be implemented to develop a better “credit” culture, with due appreciation of the usefulness of credit as a means of supporting household budgets.
VL  - 37
IS  - 5
SN  - 0265-2323
DO  - 10.1108/IJBM-11-2018-0312
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBM-11-2018-0312
AU  - Cosma Simona
AU  - Cosma Stefano
AU  - Peluso Alessandro M.
PY  - 2019
Y1  - 2019/01/01
TI  - Determinants of older consumers’ interest in home equity conversion products
T2  - International Journal of Bank Marketing
PB  - Emerald Publishing Limited
SP  - 1275
EP  - 1295
Y2  - 2024/04/18
ER  -