EFAMA welcomes the debate on retail financial services launched by the European Commission’s Green Paper on retail financial services.
EFAMA believes it is crucial to continue working to rebuild confidence in financial markets. Investors’ interests must remain at the heart of the project for a Capital Market Union. Only with their confidence, is this or any project that seeks to deepen the single market for retail financial services likely to succeed.
EFAMA very much supports the promotion of financial literacy and investor education at EU and national levels. Better informed and educated investors can better assess the choices and the products available to them.
EFAMA has strongly supported recent regulatory pieces such as MiFID II and PRIIPs as they go far in setting further transparency and strict disclosure rules. These are considerable improvements within the regulatory environment. In line with this, EFAMA fully agree that consumers need to be able to compare products to make an effective choice.
In the drive towards more single market, EFAMA fully backs the Commission in its much welcomed objective to facilitate the cross-border provision of retail financial services such as investment funds. Indeed, as the Green Paper points out, some remaining obstacles stem from an inconsistent enforcement of EU legislation across the EU. These gold plating practices at national level need to be addressed.
Finally, EFAMA wholeheartedly supports the creation of a single market for personal pensions, and the development of a Pan-European personal pension products (PEPP) in line with the ongoing work that EIOPA is undertaking and the objectives of the Commission in its CMU Action Plan. The current fragmentation of the market makes economies of scale impossible to achieve and limits the choice of pension products and pension providers. A Pan-European personal product would provide more options and better returns for savers and retail investors.