ESAs

A lack of financial literacy and unfamiliarity with digital technologies are key drivers of financial vulnerability and exclusion, Europe’s three financial sector supervisors said in a collective report.

Access to digital channels and digital infrastructure has become a prerequisite for consumers to make use of financial services, the report said, adding that a lack of digital financial skills also makes consumers more prone to be targets of digital scams and fraud.

The European Union’s top financial supervisory bodies have told the European Commission to move towards a clearer and more effective framework for informing retail clients about costs and potential risks their run with investments, and told it to better integrate sustainability objectives into requirements for informing consumers.

Queen Máxima of the Netherlands has called on European financial supervisors to review financial services for their health impact and urged the banking, payments and investment industries to do more to make sure that their clients make well-informed decisions.

There appears to be a fundamental difference of opinion between EU financial sector regulators and the Commission about the controversial Priips regulation’s key information document (KID).