ABSTRACT
If the government is to develop and monitor the eff ects of public policy and determine whether fi nancial institutions and the fi nancial services sector are adhering to laws and guidelines intended to ensure effi cient and fair markets, it needs to understand the experience customers encounter when they purchase a fi nancial product (e.g., a mortgage loan, home equity loan, small business loan, credit card, or investment product). By measuring the customer experience, the fi nancial institution as well as the government can help ensure that consumers are provided with the necessary information to make appropriate fi nancial and credit decisions at every phase of the purchase process. Th is is vitally important from a business and public policy viewpoint. In the consumer credit market, for example, self-testing helps ensure compliance with a web of fair-lending rules and guidelines intended to ensure that minority and non-minority customers receive equal and fair treatment.
