Country Studies Provide Powerful Lessons in Financial Consumer Protection

Rutledge, Sue

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: ABILITY OF CONSUMERS;    ACCURATE INFORMATION;    ACTION PLANS;    ARBITRATION;    ASSETS;   

RP-ID  :  56706

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Until the financial crisis of 2007, theglobal economy was adding an estimated 150 million newconsumers of financial services each year. Rates of increasehave since slowed but the growth continues. Most newconsumers are in developing countries where consumerprotection and financial literacy are still in theirinfancy. This is particularly true in countries that havemoved from central planning to market economies whereprotecting consumers is necessary to ensure stable andcompetitive financial markets and give new consumersconfidence in the formal financial systems. The globalfinancial crisis has highlighted the importance of consumerprotection and financial literacy for the stability of thefinancial sector. In the US, the rapid growth of complexresidential mortgage products, combined with securitizedinstruments which were sold to poorly informed parties, hascaused much turmoil. Financial institutions worldwide havebeen obliged to write off trillions of dollars of assets. InEurope and Central Asia (ECA) too, damage to the financialsector was serious.