Consumers for fair, safe and

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Consumers for fair, safe and competitive
financial services
consumersinternational.org
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Is there a crisis with financial consumer
protection?

• Weak financial consumer protection a key catalyst
  of the financial crisis
• An ongoing issue of concern for many consumers in
  all countries.
• 150 million new consumers of financial services
  every year

consumersinternational.org
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Is there a crisis with financial consumer
protection?

• High level of risk to the consumer justifies more
  effective regulation.
• Complex products
• Many one-off decisions
• Rapidly changing market
• Major long term impacts

consumersinternational.org
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The international response?

• Global nature of the problem justifies an
  international solution, however
• G20 - very little reference to consumers
• International co-operation is very limited
• World Bank work is an exception

consumersinternational.org
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CI campaign on Financial Consumer Protection

• Call for the G20 to establish an Experts Group
  on
• Contracts and charges
• Information design and disclosure
• Gov. and functions of FCP bodies
• Competition
• Ongoing international co-operation

consumersinternational.org
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Contracts and charges

• Restrict excessive complexity
• Consumers should be able to review contracts
  before signing
• Consumer protections should be non-waivable.
• Fees and costs should be fair and reasonable

consumersinternational.org
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Information design and disclosure

• Information should be comprehensive, pertinent,
  transparent and designed to meet consumer needs
• There should be regular statements on the
  performance of the products
• Financial service providers should provide full
  disclosure to relevant regulators

consumersinternational.org
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Financial consumer protection bodies

• Independence from FS industry and a balance of
  consumer and industry expertise.
• The right to develop appropriate regulations,
  conduct investigations, require changes in
  policies and practice and require appropriate
  redress.

consumersinternational.org
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Competition

• Promote the ability of consumers to switch
  providers.
• Protection against tying in.
• Low barriers to entry
• Innovation
• Breaking up the banks?

consumersinternational.org
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International co-operation

• Regulators around the world face similar
  challenges
• There are international bodies for insurance,
  securities, pensions but not financial services
• The current loose network needs to be given the
  resources to do an effective job.

consumersinternational.org
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G20 activities
consumersinternational.org
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G20 Seoul Action Plan

• Enhancing consumer protection we asked the FSB
  to work in collaboration with the OECD and other
  international organisations to explore, and
  report back by the next summit, on options to
  advance consumer finance protection through
  informed choice that includes disclosure,
  transparency and education protection from
  fraud, abuse and errors and recourse and
  advocacy.

consumersinternational.org
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Next steps

• CI and members involvement in the FSB process
• French presidency of the G20
• International standards (ISO)
• Competition
• Financial inclusion

consumersinternational.org
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www.consumersintenational.org
consumersinternational.org