06 July 2014

EIOPA Chairman: Back to basics in consumer protection: a fair treatment

“Consumer protection is at the centre of  EIOPA’s strategic objectives and goals. For me consumer protection has two main dimensions: Firstly it is about ensuring that undertakings are soundly managed and have a robust solvency position in order to fulfil, on an ongoing basis, all the commitments made to their customers.  Secondly it is about making sure that customers receive the information they need on the conditions, costs and risks of the products, that they are treated fairly and that they get value for money.

The development of a single rule book of harmonised regulation is a huge step forward for the single market, but let’s be honest: good regulation is just a first step. The real challenge will be to ensure that regulation is implemented in a consistent way throughout the EU. This requires effective and convergent supervision in all Member States in order to ensure strong supervision throughout Europe and to prevent regulatory arbitrage and guarantee a level playing field in the internal market. That’s the reason why EIOPA puts a strong emphasis on the promotion of supervisory convergence and the establishment of a common supervisory culture.

Strong and credible supervision is needed across the EU. Preventive supervision and timely enforcement contribute to healthy market competition and are critical to avoid consumer detriment. Consumer protection is also achieved by the application of sound conduct of business by market participants and, in this respect, there is a need to have a serious approach to the supervision of the conduct of business coupled with adequate enforcement. This can only work if supervisory authorities have the powers, tools and resources to effectively supervise the conduct of business of market participants. This is not the case nowadays in the EU. We have a high disparity between the Member States covering the powers, tools and resources available to national supervisors in the area of consumer protection.

This needs to be confronted. Good supervision, both off-site and on-site, is essential to protect consumers. Preventive supervision can have a major effect in avoiding consumer detriment. In my view, the ESAs can have an important role in bringing the supervisory standards in the conduct of business area. The development of ‘good supervisory practices’ in the field of conduct of business would be an essential tool to improve the consistency of supervision in this area and achieve an increased level of protection for consumers.”

Full speech

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