Brussels, 06/02/2015 (Agence Europe) - The European consumer bureau (BEUC) and the European organisation monitoring the general interest in financial matters (Finance Watch) have warned of the risk of consumer protection being watered down under pressure from industry on the European Securities Markets Authority (ESMA).
BEUC and Finance Watch ask the European Commission, when drawing up an implementatin measure for the MiFID II Directive to ensure consumers receive the advice they require, to disregard recommendations published by ESMA in December.
“If the recommendations made by ESMA were to be followed then bank staff and financial intermediaries could continue receiving commission while making only marginal efforts to comply with a key MiFID II requirement that they “enhance the quality” of the investment service. If “enhancing the quality of service” could be as little as sending an annual performance statement, as suggested by ESMA, then the problem of potentially biased advice would not be tackled,' explains BEUC in a press release.
BEUC also criticises the fact that “Consumers would not be told if their investment advice is either independent or non-independent. This is important information because “independent advisors” can no longer accept commissions or must pass them on to the client. Such investment product advice is not prone to financial bias by bank staff which is detrimental for the client.”
“Unfortunately, on this issue ESMA's Technical Advice reflects the lobbying agenda of parts of the financial industry rather than the needs of consumers,” regretted Joost Mulder for Finance Watch. (MB)