On 3 October, the three European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) – the European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) – organised the 11th edition of their annual Consumer Protection Day, in Budapest.
The event followed the theme of “Empowering EU consumers: fair access to the future of financial services” and had three panels covering the topics of artificial intelligence (AI) in financial services, access to consumer centric products and services, and sustainable finance. Speakers and panellists included leaders from consumer organisations, regulatory authorities, EU institutions, academia, and market participants from across the European Union, with 300 participants on-site and more than 600 viewers online.
Speeches were delivered by the three ESAs Chairs – Verena Ross (ESMA and currently Joint Committee Chair), Jose-Manuel Campa (EBA), and Petra Hielkema (EIOPA) – as well as Csaba Kandrács, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Hungary and Agustín Reyna, the Director General of the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC). A fire-side chat also took place with Chris Betz, Chief Information Security Officer of Amazon Web services to discuss generative AI.
On Artificial Intelligence, panellists exchanged views about the potential benefits of AI, such as fraud detection and the automation of processes to detect and prevent money laundering, as well as the risks, such as the lack of transparency and explainability. Panellists emphasised the need to better understand the technology to assess how those risks can be mitigated. Some panellists highlighted the importance for the ESAs to facilitate knowledge sharing, ensure regulatory and supervisory convergence and create the conditions for innovation to grow. Some industry players also called on the ESAs to issue ‘guardrails’ or other guidance on how financial institutions should comply with the new EU AI Act.
During the panel on access to consumer centric financial products and services, panellists discussed the need to strengthen financial education, pay greater attention to vulnerable consumers, and enable them to understand and access standard financial services packages (payment account, saving account, home/health insurance). The importance of better understanding consumer needs and preserve consumer trust was also highlighted.
On sustainable finance, panellists remarked that investors still struggle to understand the technicalities of product disclosures and the complex terminology attached to such disclosures. Simplification of the current Sustainable Finance Disclosures Requirements towards a categorisation system that works for retail investors was considered by the panellists to be the main area that regulators should focus on, in addition to enhancing the financial literacy of retail investors.
The ESAs will reflect on the input and suggestions heard from the audience and the panellists, and discuss the actions to be strenghtened or to be taken going forward.