Publication: Global Survey on Consumer Protection and Financial Literacy : Oversight Frameworks and Practices in 114 Economies
Loading...
Date
2014
ISSN
Published
2014
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Financial consumer protection and financial education policies, in conjunction with the regulation of financial institutions and markets, need to ensure safe access to financial services and support financial stability and financial inclusion objectives. Consumer protection and financial literacy can contribute to improved efficiency, transparency, competition, and access to retail financial markets by reducing information asymmetries and power imbalances among providers and users of financial services. Rapid progress toward widespread financial inclusion must be appropriately complemented with checks and balances that ensure a responsible provision of financial services and products. A number of international efforts are in place to improve dialogue and identify best practices in financial consumer protection. To contribute to the international dialogue on financial consumer protection the World Bank in conjunction with Fin-CoNet, an international cooperation platform for supervisory agencies in the area of financial consumer protection, conducted a global survey on consumer protection and financial literacy to collect information from financial regulatory agencies in 114 economies. This brief summarizes the key results of the survey and accompanies the release of the data collected to provide timely feedback on the results.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2014. Global Survey on Consumer Protection and Financial Literacy : Oversight Frameworks and Practices in 114 Economies. © http://hdl.handle.net/10986/18978 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Global Survey on Consumer Protection and Financial Literacy Results Brief : Regulatory Practices in 114 Economies(Washington, DC, 2013)Financial consumer protection and financial education policies, in conjunction with the regulation of financial institutions and markets, need to ensure safe access to financial services and support financial stability and financial inclusion objectives. Consumer protection and financial literacy can contribute to improved efficiency, transparency, competition, and access to retail financial markets by reducing information asymmetries and power imbalances among providers and users of financial services. Rapid progress toward widespread financial inclusion must be appropriately complemented with checks and balances that ensure a responsible provision of financial services and products. A number of international efforts are in place to improve dialogue and identify best practices in financial consumer protection. To contribute to the international dialogue on financial consumer protection the World Bank in conjunction with Fin-CoNet, an international cooperation platform for supervisory agencies in the area of financial consumer protection, conducted a global survey on consumer protection and financial literacy to collect information from financial regulatory agencies in 114 economies. This brief summarizes the key results of the survey and accompanies the release of the data collected to provide timely feedback on the results.Publication Consumer Protection Laws and Regulations in Deposit and Loan Services : A Cross-Country Analysis with a New Data Set(2011-01-01)Consumer protection and financial literacy can contribute to improved efficiency, transparency, competition, and access in retail financial markets by reducing information asymmetries and power imbalances between providers and users of financial services. Financial consumer protection has gained significance in policy debates, especially since the onset of the financial crisis in 2008. This paper presents the results of a survey on consumer protection regulations in 142 countries. The findings indicate that although consumer protection legislation is in place in the majority of countries, these do not necessarily address the issues specific to financial services. There is some evidence that enforcement powers and monitoring capacity are limited in many countries, obstructing the effective implementation of the existing regulations. Furthermore, independent third party dispute resolution mechanisms are not widespread. The paper also compiles comprehensive information on laws and regulations relevant for consumer protection and discusses a number of challenges related to empirical analyses of financial consumer protection to enable cross-country comparison.Publication Croatia : Diagnostic Review of Consumer Protection and Financial Literacy, Volume 1. Key Findings and Recommendations(Washington, DC, 2010-02)As financial markets develop and deepen, one of the key issues for a fair, open and efficient market is effective consumer protection and financial literacy. The European Union takes the approach that an effective regime of financial consumer protection should allow consumers to have access to: sufficient information to make informed decisions about their financial choices; cost-effective recourse mechanisms to redress violations of financial service contracts; and programs of consumer education and financial literacy that empower them to understand their financial rights and obligations. This review has found that the quality of consumer protection in financial services in Croatia has improved in recent years. In particular, the approval of the 2007 Consumer Protection Act incorporated many of the EU Directives related to financial consumer protection. In addition, the National Council on Consumer Protection was established in 2008 to advise the Government on its national strategy for consumer protection in the coming years. A nation-wide baseline survey of financial literacy would provide useful information in designing programs in financial education and consumer awareness. As pioneered in the United Kingdom, financial literacy surveys can identify which part of the population is most vulnerable to financial abuse. The baseline survey should be segmented by age, gender, geographic area, household income, and formal education. After a period of three to five years, a follow-up survey could be done to evaluate the effectiveness of the programs of financial education and consumer awareness.Publication Slovakia - Technical Note on Consumer Protection in Financial Services : Volume 2 Sectoral Analyses and Good Practice Reviews(Washington, DC, 2012-07)As financial markets develop and deepen, one of the key issues for the fair, open and efficient operation of the markets is the protection of consumers rights in financial services. Be they bank depositors or borrowers or investors in insurance policies, securities or investment or pension funds, financial consumers need the ability to accurately understand the terms and conditions of their contracts and take action if the terms of contracts have been violated. The Note is the second report in a pilot program to analyze consumer protection in financialservices.The objectives of the Note are three-fold, to: (1) present a set of draft good practices for assessing consumer protection in financial services; (2) conduct a review of the existing rules and practices in Slovakia compared to the draft practices; and (3) provide recommendations on ways to improve consumer protection in financial services in Slovakia. The Technical Note wasprepared at the request of the Slovak Ministry of Finance, with the valuable support of the National Bank of Slovakia and other government agencies, ministries, and non-government organizations. In the past the World Bank has also prepared governance reviews of the Slovak financial sector for banking and private pension funds. Few guidelines are available for consumer protection in financial services. Consumer protection in financial services remains a new and developing area for which no consensus has developed on the broad parameters against which a specific country might be analyzed. This Note relied on the EU Directives related to consumer protection and the reports of European financialregulatory and supervisory agencies. Other sources were also used. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission and other state, federal and self-regulatory agencies have developed laws, rules and guidelines to protect financial consumers. In addition, the 2003 OECD Guidelines for Protecting Consumers from Fraudulent and DeceptiveCommercial Practices across Borders and the 1999 United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection served as useful reference points for general consumer protection not related to the financial sector. The recommendations in the Note go beyond the provisions of the EU Directives currently in force. As described in the EU Consumer Protection strategy announced in March 2007 and the April 2007 Green Paper on Retail Financial Services, European financial consumers wouldbenefit from stronger legal and institutional protections than are currently in place. Both in Europe and elsewhere, contemporary thinking on consumer protection is rapidly evolving. The Technical Note takes into account the international discussion on financial consumer protection and evolving good practices in financial consumer protection. Thus, the Note presents recommendations that are applicable to the Slovak financial sector, but in some cases go beyondthe minimum requirements set by EU legislation.Publication Responsible Lending : Overview of Regulatory Tools(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-10)This paper provides an overview of key regulatory actions a government may implement to support responsible lending. It covers a range of possible interventions, including the provision of information, developing consumers' ability to use that information, formal requirements for responsible behavior of the lenders, and regulatory limits for loans. Because the research on the effectiveness of the responsible lending policies is limited, the paper focuses on literature overview and empirical evidence when available and uses case studies to describe key policies. A regulator seeking to develop a responsible lending framework must cover all areas of the responsible lending regulatory and educational mix. No single solution may be applied universally. The regulators must ensure they understand the retail credit markets. The paper identifies main policy options and areas for further research. Better data on lending markets before and after the rules are introduced and more detailed understanding of consumer behavior helps in identifying effective regulatory rules and supervisory actions that help ensure more responsible lending while not limiting financial inclusion and the growth of the credit market. Access to credit is sometimes considered by national authorities a crucial measure of financial inclusion. Low-income countries where microfinance is a key contributor financial inclusion may use similar measures.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Business Ready 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-03)Business Ready (B-READY) is a new World Bank Group corporate flagship report that evaluates the business and investment climate worldwide. It replaces and improves upon the Doing Business project. B-READY provides a comprehensive data set and description of the factors that strengthen the private sector, not only by advancing the interests of individual firms but also by elevating the interests of workers, consumers, potential new enterprises, and the natural environment. This 2024 report introduces a new analytical framework that benchmarks economies based on three pillars: Regulatory Framework, Public Services, and Operational Efficiency. The analysis centers on 10 topics essential for private sector development that correspond to various stages of the life cycle of a firm. The report also offers insights into three cross-cutting themes that are relevant for modern economies: digital adoption, environmental sustainability, and gender. B-READY draws on a robust data collection process that includes specially tailored expert questionnaires and firm-level surveys. The 2024 report, which covers 50 economies, serves as the first in a series that will expand in geographical coverage and refine its methodology over time, supporting reform advocacy, policy guidance, and further analysis and research.Publication Argentina Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.Publication Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Country Climate And Development Report(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-01)This regional Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) focuses on four countries of the 11‑member Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)—Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The four countries chosen as the focus for this report are the only OECS member countries eligible for concessional International Development Association (IDA) financing for development objectives. The report contributes to the identification of opportunities for OECS countries to achieve their development goals and increase resilience by responding to the challenges posed by climate change in four ways: 1. It presents existing evidence on the challenges OECS countries face through multiple vulnerabilities - physical, social, and economic - and how they may deepen with climate change. 2. It provides estimates of a significant subset of the investments needed for adaptation to natural hazards in these countries. Estimated needs are large; they stand between 1 and 11 percent of discounted GDP investments annually over a 15‑to‑25‑year period, but the benefits they deliver through reduced risk and associated co‑benefits can also be large. 3. By linking investment costs to the broader fiscal and growth context through a robust macro framework, it highlights the difficult balancing act between building resilience and ensuring debt sustainability. 4. It identifies key actions that provide an opportunity to make headway on adaptation by building resilience to climate change while taking steps toward a more sustainable development path.Publication The Journey Ahead(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-31)The Journey Ahead: Supporting Successful Migration in Europe and Central Asia provides an in-depth analysis of international migration in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) and the implications for policy making. By identifying challenges and opportunities associated with migration in the region, it aims to inform a more nuanced, evidencebased debate on the costs and benefits of cross-border mobility. Using data-driven insights and new analysis, the report shows that migration has been an engine of prosperity and has helped address some of ECA’s demographic and socioeconomic disparities. Yet, migration’s full economic potential remains untapped. The report identifies multiple barriers keeping migration from achieving its full potential. Crucially, it argues that policies in both origin and destination countries can help maximize the development impacts of migration and effectively manage the economic, social, and political costs. Drawing from a wide range of literature, country experiences, and novel analysis, The Journey Ahead presents actionable policy options to enhance the benefits of migration for destination and origin countries and migrants themselves. Some measures can be taken unilaterally by countries, whereas others require close bilateral or regional coordination. The recommendations are tailored to different types of migration— forced displacement as well as high-skilled and low-skilled economic migration—and from the perspectives of both sending and receiving countries. This report serves as a comprehensive resource for governments, development partners, and other stakeholders throughout Europe and Central Asia, where the richness and diversity of migration experiences provide valuable insights for policy makers in other regions of the world.Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.