Martin White has submitted a personal response to HM Treasury’s consultation on “PRIIPS and Retail Disclosure Consultation”.
At best, the consultation is addressing the symptoms of information asymmetry on which the financial sector’s profitability relies.
At worst, it is ensuring financial services providers continue to trump the consumer.
What are PRIIPS? These are “Packaged Retail Investment and Insurance-Based Products”, a category of financial assets provided for consumers in the European Union and UK through banks or other financial institutions as an alternative to savings accounts.
Martin’s response provides root cause analysis of why consumers never get that trump card – transparency over costs and charges – and what Government must do to put consumers’ interests first.
Question: is Parliament aware of the FCA stopping short of actions that directly help individuals identify the cheapest and simplest suitable products?
First Government action: openly acknowledge “that the regulatory regime operates to stifle the free sharing of information which would help people better understand their options”.
