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GM Corporate and Fiduciary Services Ltd. 147/1, St. Lucia Street, Valletta VLT 1185, Malta. |
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+(356) 2123 5341 |
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info@gmint.com |
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On 10 December 2015, the European Commission launched a three-month consultation on financial services as seen from the perspective of the European consumers. The consultation was originally announced in the Capital Markets Union Action Plan.
The focus of the consultation is the retail market across Europe for products such as insurance, mortgages, loans, payments and bank accounts. Its aim is to identify and remove the unjustified barriers that consumers face when they want to use such financial services across borders, and, consequently, to boost competition, transparency and choice of the services. The effects of the consultation are expected to contribute to the creation of a system that works for all consumers across the EU, giving them access to the best financial service deals, with more suitable products, a wider choice and more competitive prices.
The difficulties the EU consumers encounter at present include unavailability of bank accounts or savings products abroad to residents of their Member State, no possibility of keeping their existing current account or debit card when moving abroad, high fees or poor exchange rates for transferring money into another currency, or using a credit card while on holiday, etc. As a result, many Europeans do not enjoy the widest range of products or they pay for them over the odds. On the other hand, the complexity and high cost of operating internationally discourages financial services providers to expand outside borders.
For these reasons, only 3% of consumers have purchased a banking product such as a credit card, current account or a mortgage from other EU member state. What is more, within the euro area, cross-border loans amount for less than 1% of the total.
Launching the consultation, the Commission aims at making it easier for companies to offer financial products at the retail level in other EU Member States, and providing the consumers with wider range of financial products.
Citizens, stakeholders such as consumer groups and businesses and other interested parties are invited to take part in the consultation until 18 March 2016. When it is closed, the consultation’s results will be discussed and examined in a conference in early 2016. Next, an Action Plan on Retail Financial Services will be developed.
