Consumer Protection Laws and Regulations in Deposit and Loan Services : A Cross-Country Analysis with a New Data Set
Consumer protection and financial literacy can contribute to improved efficiency, transparency, competition, and access in retail financial markets by reducing information asymmetries and power imbalances between providers and users of financial services. Financial consumer protection has gained significance in policy debates, especially since the onset of the financial crisis in 2008. This paper presents the results of a survey on consumer protection regulations in 142 countries. The findings indicate that although consumer protection legislation is in place in the majority of countries, these do not necessarily address the issues specific to financial services. There is some evidence that enforcement powers and monitoring capacity are limited in many countries, obstructing the effective implementation of the existing regulations. Furthermore, independent third party dispute resolution mechanisms are not widespread. The paper also compiles comprehensive information on laws and regulations relevant for consumer protection and discusses a number of challenges related to empirical analyses of financial consumer protection to enable cross-country comparison.
Summary: | Consumer protection and financial
literacy can contribute to improved efficiency,
transparency, competition, and access in retail financial
markets by reducing information asymmetries and power
imbalances between providers and users of financial
services. Financial consumer protection has gained
significance in policy debates, especially since the onset
of the financial crisis in 2008. This paper presents the
results of a survey on consumer protection regulations in
142 countries. The findings indicate that although consumer
protection legislation is in place in the majority of
countries, these do not necessarily address the issues
specific to financial services. There is some evidence that
enforcement powers and monitoring capacity are limited in
many countries, obstructing the effective implementation of
the existing regulations. Furthermore, independent third
party dispute resolution mechanisms are not widespread. The
paper also compiles comprehensive information on laws and
regulations relevant for consumer protection and discusses a
number of challenges related to empirical analyses of
financial consumer protection to enable cross-country comparison. |
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