Demystifying finance

On 1 February 2022, Commissioner McGuinness gave a speech at a European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) high-level conference on financial education and literacy. She started by underlining the importance of having a financial system that is not impenetrable and abstract – one that works for citizens, and not the other way around. But she stressed that demystifying finance does not mean deregulating finance – empowering consumers does not mean removing consumer protections. Ms McGuinness goes on to point out that financial literacy levels still remain too low – particularly among certain groups of people. But she says financial education must go hand in hand with consumer protection. And here, the EU has a strong track record. Consumers have, for example: the right to a basic bank account; the right to compare payment account fees and switch providers; the right to repay their mortgage early. But, Ms McGuinness says, the financial world is changing rapidly, and we need to make sure our consumer protection rules are fit for the challenges ahead.

You can read the full speech here