ECRC partner from Slovenia, ZPS, is organising an international conference which plans to bring together the best expertise from the EU and the US and are looking forward to a dynamic and creative event with lively debates on 20 May 2010. The preliminary draft programme is shown below. Speakers have been invited and an update on this major stakeholder event including key guidelines on programme points, conference website and registration will be brought to the website very soon. The conference will further strengthen the cooperation of ECRC members and be a platform to take the work of the coalition further among an audience of respected authorities on the issues at stake.
Financial forum 2010
After the Crisis: making financial services work for consumers
Ljubljana, 20th of May, 2010
Draft Programme
Wednesday, 19 May
18.30 Welcome drinks reception
Thursday, 20 May
08.00 Registration opens. Tea and coffee
09.00 to 10.00 Welcome and introductory session
10.00 to 11.10 Plenary I: Financial Crisis – two years on.
This session will set the scene and give a general overview on causes and consequences of the financial crisis for consumers, the measures adopted, and their impact so far. Some of the issues to be addressed include: the cost to consumers of bank failures; the nature, role and power of banks; regulatory and structural changes adopted or still necessary to safeguard the public interest; and what are the transatlantic implications of the crisis.
11.10 to 11.30 Coffee break
11.30 to 13.00 Financial Services for Consumers (parallel thematic workshops)
1. Safe financial products
Mis-selling is the scourge of the financial industry and a major reason for the crisis – from mortgages to pensions to various forms of insurance. This session/workshop will consider: what constitutes a safe product that meets consumer’s needs? How to make these products understandable and user-friendly for consumers? Should unsafe and unsuitable products be banned and how? What kind of policy interventions is most effective for product regulation? How to avoid regulation ‘shopping’ through international co-operation
2. Financial Advice and Sales
A look at the role of firms/institutions and intermediaries in selling products and how they are regulated; the role of incentive payments: should independent advice be based on consumer fees or commissions? What role do regulators and governments have in providing impartial advice? Should there be impartial advice services, including those provided by NGOs/Consumer groups? And do we need improved financial literacy or simpler products?
3. Financial Regulation and Role of Regulatory authorities
How much protection consumers need when buying financial products and services? How to strike the right balance to ensure proper safeguards while avoiding too much restriction on the availability of products and services? What reforms are needed at both international and domestic levels to achieve this, and long term financial stability? And what are the duties of regulators in protecting consumers? Is there need for a supra-national regulatory co-ordinator/authority?
13.00 to 14.30 Lunch
14.30 to 16.00 Plenary II: Making Financial Services Work; results from the parallel workshops and discussion
Keynote speeches
Summary and remarks
16.00 to 16.15 Coffee break
16.15 to 17.30 Plenary III: Providing essential services for consumers, including the vulnerable; alternative business models
17.30 to 18.00 Concluding remarks and concrete proposals for the future
18.00 to 19.00 Networking drinks
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