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CI talks financial consumer protection at the OECD Forum 2011
25 May 2011
CI talks financial consumer protection at OECD Forum 2011
Marilena Lazzarini, a
member of CI's Council representing
Idec, Brazil, recently highlighted CI's recommendations to
the G20 on consumer protection in financial services at the
OECD 50th Anniversary Forum in Paris.
Marilena Lazzarini
Speaking alongside the Prime
Minister of Slovakia and the Finance Ministers of Iceland and
Canada on the topic of 'Financial Regulation and Consumer
Protection', Ms Lazzarini argued that while consumer education
plays an important role in empowering consumers, it should not be
viewed as an alternative to effective regulation as part of global
efforts to strengthen financial consumer protection:
"We consumer organisations strongly
support financial education, and many are participants in
programmes for consumer financial literacy.
But we understand that financial
education is no substitute for regulation to promote fair products
and practices. There is a danger that excessive reliance may
be placed on consumer education as the solution to financial
consumer protection.
We believe that the sequence of
policy interventions is also important. The priority should be the
deployment of robust regulatory interventions to create fair,
transparent financial products in markets that operate with
integrity. Then the financial education programmes would stand a
better chance of promoting confident, self-determined
consumers."
Watch the a
video of the full session.
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