17 January 2006

EFR report on consumer protection

The European Financial Services Round Table (EFR), published its second new report on consumer protection advocating that financial services products should be better comparable across Europe. The EFR stresses that differing consumer protection rules for retail financial services products are real barriers for consumers to choose the right products corresponding to their needs, and for providers to efficiently organise their operations and distribution activities. The report describes in more detail how consumer protection rules in retail financial services could be converged if not harmonised across the EU.

Retail financial services markets are still fragmented and need to be more integrated to drive down prices and to increase European-wide choice for consumers. A first important step would be the introduction of a mandatory Pan-European Info Box (PEIB). Consumers would then be enabled to compare products at a pre-contractual stage by the standardised provision of relevant product information.

The EFR believes that it has to be carefully evaluated for which types of financial services the flexible approach - full harmonisation of certain key requirements in combination with mutual recognition - is workable. A thorough case-by-case analysis should be done in order to identify those financial services product types which are eligible for further integration in the short and medium term.

Press release
Report

© EFR - European Financial Services Round Table