Warianty tytułu
Financial Education: Hanging to Second Gear. Envisioning the Way Ahead
Języki publikacji
Abstrakty
Podsumowując, zapewnienie wiedzy na temat finansów jest ważnym zadaniem, ale nie może ono zastąpić odpowiednich przepisów ochrony konsumentów, gwarantujących konsumentom dostęp, przestrzeganie zasad fair play i właściwe informacje. Komisja powinna jednakże uwzględnić jej pomocniczą rolę i nie traktować edukacji finansowej jako panaceum i zastępstwa dla środków ochrony konsumentów. Zrozumienie świata finansów, lepsza edukacja finansowa to o wiele więcej niż tylko nauka obracania pieniędzmi. Polega ona na kreowaniu asertywnego konsumenta mającego siłę odpierać zbędne obciążenia finansowe oraz zwiększaniu możliwości finansowych dla całego społeczeństwa.(fragment tekstu)
In all markets the end-user, the consumer, plays a critical role in the market and how efficiently it works. Fundamental to consumers in this relationship is the information provision in their selection of goods and services. In many markets the information required by consumers in making choices is easily accessible and understandable. Unfortunately, this is not the case in financial service markets. The European Commission has intervened in the financial services market because of its significance. Deficiencies, such as information asymmetry and other forms of market failure, have also been identified as key issues in the effectiveness of the market. Instrumental in this intervention has been the creation of policy resulting in directives and regulation. In the process of formulating sound constructive policies a recognised requirement is consultation with all stakeholders. Consultation, however, with one of the major stakeholders - the consumer - has been sadly lacking. The users' involvement is critical in developing well defined policies and better regulation to ensure that the market works effectively and meets the needs of the end-user. In contrast, the financial services industry has for many years been well resourced and has been and continues to be a powerful lobby in the development of policy. There is strong evidence indicating that this imbalance of power has resulted in market failure. The consequence of this can be devastating for consumers because they have not been adequately protected. There is no doubt that financial education is useful and if carried out properly and not just for the mere provision of it, everyone should find it beneficial. Those groups who have been actively involved in this activity know very well that financial education is not simply lumping together subjects such as savings, investments and debt onto consumers. The challenge, rather than the problem, lies deeper than that. Whilst FIN-USE in general supports the case for further financial education programmes it should not be seen as justification for introducing overly complex products or as an excuse for mis-selling. The challenge is to determine the extent of financial capability that an average consumer should be expected to have to be able to behave rationally in this complex market. Financial products will stay complex or even get more complex. Bearing in mind that having knowledge on all or most financial products is impossible, the problem may not be the complexity of the financial products and markets per se. Consumers don't need to know and understand the technicalities of financial products and markets. They only need to know when professional advice is needed to take an investment or credit decision. In this sense, unbiased independent advice has a complementary role in financial education. All in all financial literacy is an important task, but cannot replace adequate consumer protection rules to ensure access, fair play and adequate information for consumers. The Commission should however take into account its subsidiary role and should not see financial education as a panacea and a substitute for consumer protection measures. Financial literacy, better financial education is much more than teaching how to handle money. It is about creating an emboldened consumer empowered to fend off unnecessary financial burdens and improving financial opportunity for the whole of society. (original abstract)
Twórcy
autor
- Maltańska Komisja Nadzoru Finansowego
Bibliografia
- 1. Tony Williams (2007) "Empowerment of whom and for what" Financial literacy education and the new regulation of consumer financial services," Law and Policy 29; 226-256;
- 2. James F. Devlin (2003) "Monitoring the success of policy initiatives to increase consumer understanding of financial services," Journal of Financial Regulation and Compliance Vol 11 No 2; 151-163;
- 3. Sandra Braunstein and Carolyn Welch (November 2002) "Financial Literacy: An overview of practice, research and policy," Federal Reserve Bulletin; 445-457;
- 4. Karen Gross (2004) Financial Literacy Education: Panacea, palliative, or something worse New York Law School, Presentation www.responsiblelending.org/issues/mortgage/briefs/page.jsp'itemID=28012370 (Downloaded on 12 November 2007);
- 5. FIN-USE (2007) Response to the Green Paper on Retail Financial Services in the Single Market http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/finservices-retail/docs/policy/gp_comments/user_eu_finuse_en.pdf (Downloaded on 15 November 2007);
- 6. European Commission (2007) Green Paper on Retail Financial Services in the Single Market COM/2007/0226 final;
- 7. European Commission (2007) Communication on Financial Education http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/finservices-retail/capability/index_en.htm (Downloaded 20 December 2007);
- 8. European Commission (2007) Survey of financial literacy schemes in the EU: http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/finservices-retail/capability/index_en.htm (Downloaded 20 December 2007).
Typ dokumentu
Bibliografia
Identyfikatory
Identyfikator YADDA
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