Every two years, the European Society for Banking and Financial Law organises an international colloquium on a topic that is currently the focus of legal and regulatory discussions. This year’s conference will focus on “The evolution of banking and financial regulation under the effect of customer protection rules”. Organised by the Luxembourg committee of the AEDBF, it will be held .
Founded in Paris in 1988, the AEDBF is a European association which contributes to the reflection on the legal aspects of banking, financial and stock exchange activities. The association brings together bank and corporate lawyers, attorneys, magistrates, academics, civil servants and economists. Besides Luxembourg, the AEDBF is active in France, Belgium, Greece, Romania, Italy and Switzerland.
“The vocation of the AEDBF is to promote European banking law among specialised professionals,” says Marie-Paule Gillen, president of the Luxembourg committee of the AEDBF. She adds: “The advantage of being united in a European association is that we can bring in prominent members who are active in existing associations in other countries. So we can organise debates at European or international level from the perspective of comparative law.”
Protection through transparency
The theme of this year’s conference stems from the observation that the rules concerning the protection of clients consuming investment products have undergone significant changes over the last two decades. Mainly driven by the digitalisation of the banking and financial industry, this evolution has impacted the protection of retail investors.
The Mifid I directive in 2004 and Mifid II in 2014 aimed at harmonising the organisation of professionals and investor protection with a view to a European market for financial services. The idea was then to strengthen the information of clients on the financial services and products they consume, based on the principle of protection through transparency.
“In recent years, we have seen that all the rules that were put in place have been strongly impacted by technological developments,” says Gillen. Not only are financial products and services becoming more digital, but this trend is also affecting their distribution.
A range of stakeholders from all sides
Whereas in the past, an individual investor was informed and had his risk profile carried out by his bank manager with interviews, extensive forms and the sending of documents, the use of digital tools now makes the process more complex. The speed of placing an order via a smartphone and reading legal documents on a small screen may indeed lead to the fact that the individual client no longer has access to the information as easily as before.
Beyond the changes in the consumption behaviour of financial products and services, the AEDBF notes that “new perspectives are emerging, particularly with regard to green and sustainable finance”, underlining the importance of quality financial education for private consumers. This raises the problem of customers having recourse mechanisms, such as collective actions, against financial institutions when they feel they have been wronged.
With regard to the new regulations inspired by the consumer model, the AEDBF plans to address the issues at stake through a series of round tables throughout the day on 5 May. Among the speakers, the association has invited representatives from industry, regulators and academia. “The quality and experience of the high-level speakers will highlight the importance of these new regulations for the protection of the financial client,” says the AEDBF.
This story for first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.