The global financial crisis has highlighted the need for more effective measures to protect financial services consumers as they face increasingly sophisticated offers. Publicly available financial information has increased both in quantity and complexity and the pace of change, in terms of the launch of new services and products and the pace of adaptation of financial services to new technologies, has increased dramatically.
The process of creating and maintaining a reasonable level of consumer confidence in financial markets also generates efficiency and stability throughout the financial system and contributes to positive outcomes for both financial institutions and their customers.
In this context, the ASF is concerned with increasing the protection of the financial consumer, assuming, by including it in the organisation's tasks, to contribute to improving the level of financial education of the public. At the level of the Directorate for Public Relations, Petitions and Financial Education, this is achieved by:
Unbiased and accurate information not only protects consumers, but can allow more consumers access to those segments of the market considered to be reserved for experienced investors. Consumers should not face discriminatory treatment and at the same time have access to products and services that meet their needs. Access to specialised education and advice based on specific needs must be guaranteed to guide consumers through the complexities of financial services and instruments.
According to European Directives and Recommendations (D. 2013/11/EU, R. 98/257/EC, Solvency II), EU Member States must facilitate consumer access to alternative dispute resolution and promote these methods, thus providing a simple, quick and less costly solution for both the consumer and the financial services provider. Mediation, as an ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) procedure, responds to the requirements of the European Union, ensuring the resolution of consumer disputes in a fast, efficient, qualitative, confidential, low-cost way, through the intervention of a neutral and impartial third party mediator.As a result, both direct consumer protection and financial education have become, or are becoming, complementary tools to prudential regulation and supervision and improving the long-term pattern of consumer behaviour has become a priority in most developed countries. This trend has led to the development of several initiatives in the field of financial education, launched both by governments, regulators and supervisors and by organisations representing civil society, often combined with other consumer protection measures.
As the attention and resources allocated to financial education programmes have increased, so has the focus on ensuring the effectiveness and long-term impact of these programmes. As a result, coordinated programmes and tailored strategies at national or branch level have come to be seen as the best way to ensure the long-term success of financial education measures. However, such initiatives at national level have encountered many challenges, largely due to the low level or problems of communication and cooperation between partners, their low level of involvement, unproductive competition between different entities, lack of financial and human resources needed to develop strategies at this level.
Authorization
Supervision
Legislation
Consumers
Reports
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