BETA

47 Amendments of Philippe DE BACKER related to 2012/2055(INI)

Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
A. whereas the smooth functioning of the internal market and development of a modern, socially inclusive economy depends inter alia on the universal provision of basic banking services and of a socially responsible banking sector;
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
B. whereas access to basic banking services is aone of the preconditions for consumers to benefit from the internal market, notably from cross-border migrationfreedom of movement, money transfer and the purchase of goods and services at non- discriminatory cost; whereas the annual opportunity cost of not having access to a payment account is estimated at between EUR 185 to EUR 365 per consumer;
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
C. whereas currently 7 % of all Union consumers, that is to say 30 million people, are voluntarily or involuntarily excluded from access to basic banking services, with an estimated 7 million having been rejected by payment service providers; whereas financial exclusion is an even greater problem in most EU-12 Member Statevaries from one Member State to another; whereas some Member States have a very low penetration rate of banking accounts;
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Ca. Stresses that every consumer has the right to choose not to have a bank account or a basis bank account; Therefore, consumers should not be obliged to have a bank account or a basic bank account; underlines however in this respect the importance of financial education in pointing out the advantages of financial inclusion;
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
D. whereas the problem of divergent product quality and low competition in retail banking must be tackled; whereas the integration of the banking sector cannot be completed without further convergence and harmonisation towards high-quality standards;deleted
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
E. whereas cash, provided by central banks, is a public good while electronic means of payment are provided by private providers and are increasing in importance, which reduces public expenditure required for the public provision of cash while creating a monopoly to the financial industry over retail payment services; whereas, under these circumstances, users are increasingly charged to access their deposits and to make payments;deleted
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
F. whereas general economic development and social cohesion contribute to high bank account penetration; whereas among Member States, 33 % of the variation in the percentage of the population using a current bank account can be explained by the level of economic development and, therefore, 67 % depend on other factors, such as regulation or self-regulation instruments;
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
G. whereas payment service providers, acting in accordance with market logic, tend to focus on commercially attractive consumers, leaving vulnerabland therefore in certain cases leaving less attractive consumers without the same choice of products; whereas industry codes as initiated in Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Ireland, Slovenia and Luxembourg have largelyinter alia been a result of public pressure and demands for legislative initiatives; whereas self- regulation instruments have had positive results but, at the same time, have failed to effectively guarantee universal access to a basic bank accountor mixed results;
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
H. whereas legislative approaches to ensure universal access to basic banking services have had satisfactory results in Belgium and France where the number of unbanked citizens has dropped by 75 % and 30 % respectively, as well as in Finland and Denmark where 100 % of households are covered by banking services, Denmark, France and Finland;
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
I. whereas not all Member States have not reacted adequately to the Commission's above- mentioned Recommendation and in 15 Member States there is still no legal or voluntary requirement for banks to provide basic banking services;
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
J. whereas in order to be effective a basic bank account needs to be straightforward to open, even for those with non-standard proof of identity and and needs to provide a specified range of core services, and; there also need to be measures in place for effective supervision and settlement of conflicts;
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
K. whereas as part of their corporate social responsibility strategies, banks should share responsibility with public authorities and civil society for the provision of access tooffer basic banking services withoutat a reasonable cost;
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
L. whereas any initiative to ensure access to basic banking services must include protection against garnishment, to establish consumers' trust and prevent costs arising from unused accounts;deleted
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M
M. whereas distortions of compethe main goal of any initiation must be prevented and consumers' needs in under-banked regions must be taken into account and hence the scope of the initiative should be as broad as possible; whereas, in addition to credit institutions, access to core basic banking services could be provided by ove should be access to basic payment services to consumers living in the Union; in this respect, welcomes that besides credit institutions regulated by Directive 2007/64/EC, also other payment service providers are active in providing basic payment services, such as prepaid solutions; Therefore, asks the Commission and the Member States to take into account new developments in ther payment service providers regulated by Directive 2007/64/ECs market when developing any new initiatives in this field;
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M a (new)
Ma. The right to access and use a basic bank account in a Member State should be given to consumers which have a link to the Member State concerned provided that the consumer: 1) does not already hold a bank account in that Member State meeting the requirements of paragraph 17 of this Annex, and 2) provides a declaration of honour or a simple declaration of at least one financial institution in the Member State concerned which demonstrates that in the Member State concerned he has been refused a bank account meeting the requirements of paragraph 17 of this Annex. Non-limitative examples of a link with the Member State concerned are: nationality, place of residence, job related issues, enrolment in an institution that provides education or vocational training, family related issues, or any other factor which could constitute a link with the Member State concerned;
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N
N. whereas it should be considered for any initiative for universal access to basic banking services musto be flanked by well-designed communication campaigns raising awareness about consumers' rights and providers' rights and obligations.
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
1. Requests the Commission to submit, by the end ofAsks Member States to take appropriate action by the end of 2012 and to inform the Commission; Requests the Commission to come forward with a detailed state of play of the situation in all Member States by 31 January 2013; If no appropriate action has been taken by the Member States, requests the Commission to submit, by July 20123, on the basis of Article 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, a legislative proposal or proposals ensuring access to basic banking services to all consumers living in the Union, following the detailed recommendations set out in the Annex hereto;
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
3. Considers that the requested proposal does not have financial implications for the budget of the European Union;
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 81 #
Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – recommendation 1 – paragraph 1
1. TheAny European legislation should oblige as manyMember States to ensure access to basic banking services, preferably by obliging payment service providers, as possible, asdefined in Article 4(9) of Directive 2007/64/EC, to provide basic banking services. In this respect, notes that also other payment service providers than those defined in Article 4(9) of Directive 2007/64/EC, to are active in provideing basic banking servicespayment services, such as prepaid solutions; Therefore, it could be useful to take into account these developments in the payment services market as well when developing any new initiatives in this field.
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 82 #
Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – recommendation 1 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Any legislative initiative should respect the principle of subsidiarity and take into account existing legal or voluntary arrangements in Member States where the right to access and use a basic bank account is already successfully ensured;
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 83 #
Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – recommendation 1 – paragraph 2
2. However, in order to avoid undue burdens on payment service providers offering services not linked to those required for a basic bank account, the following should be exempt from the obligation to provide such an account: a. payment services providers set out in points (e) and (f) of Article 1(1) of Directive 2007/64/EC; b. payment institutions authorised only to provide one or more of the payment services listed in points 4 to 7 of the Annex to Directive 2007/64/EC;deleted
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 86 #
Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – recommendation 1 – paragraph 3
3. Member States should be permitted to exempt from the obligation to provide a basic bank account: a. Payment service providers operating on a cooperative business model, on a non- profit basis or requiring membership on defined criteria, such as profession. b. Payment service providers having carried out transactions totalling less than €3m in the previous year.deleted
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 94 #
Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – recommendation 1 – paragraph 4
4. Any payment service providers exempted under point (a) of point 3 should contribute to a compensatory fund unless the provider is operating at a non- profit basis.deleted
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 101 #
Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – recommendation 2 – paragraph 5
5. The legislation should ensure that any consumer, - that is to say any natural person who is acting for purposes other than his trade, business, craft or profession, legally resident - which has a link the Uniono a Member State has the right to open and use a basic bank account with a payment service provider operating in ain that Member State provided that the consumer: 1) does not already hold a basic bank account in that Member State meeting the requirements of Union legislation as specified in these Recommendaparagraph 17 of this Annex, and 2) provides a declaration of honour or a simple declaration of at least one financial institutions in the territory of that Member StateMember State concerned, which demonstrates that in the Member State concerned he has been refused a bank account meeting the requirements of paragraph 17 of this Annex.
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 111 #
Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – recommendation 2 – paragraph 6
6. The legislation should ensure that it is not unduly burdensome for consumers to demonstrate that they do not already hold a basic bank account in the Member State concerned, and provide for a declaration by the consumer to that effect during the application process.
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 114 #
Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – recommendation 2 – paragraph 7
7. The right to access a basic bank account should apply irrespective of the consumer'sin a Member State should apply to consumers who have a link with the Member State concerned. Non-limitative examples of a link with the Member State concerned are: nationality or, place of residence in the Union, job related issues, enrolment in an institution that provides education or vocational training, family related issues, or any other factor which could constitute a link with the Member State concerned. Criteria such as the level or regularity of income, employment, credit history, level of indebtedness, individual situation regarding bankruptcy or future activity of the account should not be taken into account for the opening a basic bank account. Access to a basic bank account should under no circumstances be made conditional on the purchase of other products or services, for instance insurance.
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 120 #
Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – recommendation 2 – paragraph 8
8. The legislation should be applied withA basic bank account prejudice to Union rules, in particular providers’ obligation to terminate the basic bank account contract in exceptional circumstances under relevant Union or national legislation, such as legislation on money laundering. The account may also be closed in case of imposture, abuse of confidence or falsification of documentscan be refused or annulled only in exceptional circumstances, such as in case of 1) incompatibility with the legislation on money laundering, 2) imposture, abuse of confidence or falsification of documents, 3) persistent non-payment of charges, associated with the basic bank account.
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 124 #
Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – recommendation 2 – paragraph 9
9. Member States should be obliged to ensure that due diligence procedures do not lead to discriminatory practices, for instance against marginalised groups, migrants, ethnic or religious minorities or people with no fixed address. Therefore, special consideration should be given to the means by which people with no fixed address can satisfy due diligence requirements and n. National best practices should be taken into account in order to effectively guarantee access to a core range of essential payment services.
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 127 #
Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – recommendation 2 – paragraph 10
10. To facilitate this, basic bank accounts should be classified as low-risk products in accordance with Article 3(3) of and given the money laundering rules, it should be considered how to strike the right balance between the access to a basic bank account and due diligence requirements. In this respect, the link with Commission Ddirective 2006/70/EC laying down implementing measures for Directive 2005/60; providers should be obliged to apply simplified customer due diligence requirements and t/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the definition of ‘politically exposed person’ and the technical criteria for simplified customer due diligence procedures and for exemption on grounds of a financial activity conducted on an occasional or very limited basis should be clarified. The Commission should aim to further harmonise national interpretations of anti- money laundering rules to ensure that it can no longer be used to deny access to a basic bank account.
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 140 #
Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – recommendation 3 – paragraph 15
15. Access to a basic bank account should be free of chargeThe opening of a basic bank account should be free of charge. However, the use of a basic bank account may be charged. All charges related to the use of a basic bank account shall be reasonable, cost- based, and shall be more favourable compared to the provider’s usual pricing policy for comparable bank account products. Member states may introduce maximum charges to be respected at the national level.
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 152 #
Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – recommendation 3 – paragraph 16
16. Any default charges should be affordreasonable and at least as favourable as the provider’s usual pricing policy. The legislation should ensure that the consumer does not bear any fee or penalty arising from circumstances independent of his/her will, such as insufficient funds in his account due to late payment of wages or social benefits.
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 163 #
Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – recommendation 3 – paragraph 17 – section A – subparagraph 1
The consumerlient should be provided with non- discriminatory access to basic personal service, such as over-the-counter service in branches and to the use of automatic teller machines (ATMs), including other banks’ ATMs where technically possible. The provider should not charge any fees related to the execution of, and the fees, where applicable, should be included in the overall management fee for a basic bank account management services.
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 168 #
Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – recommendation 3 – paragraph 17 – section B – points (a) - (d)
(a) transfers of funds in euro within the European Union via the execution of credit transfers including interbank executions; (b) transfers of funds in euro within the European Union via the execution of payment transactions through a payment card that does not allow the execution of payment transactions that would exceed the current balance of the payment account; (c) the execution of standing orders in euro within the European Union, including interbank executions, in Member States where its use is necessary for the execution of essential transactions; (d) the execution of direct debit in euro within the European Union including interbank executions in Member States where its use is necessary for the execution of essential transactions.
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 171 #
Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – recommendation 3 – paragraph 17 – section B – subparagraph 1
For the execution of these services, the consumer should be entitled to non- discriminatory access to the different channels offered by the provider, such as manual transactions, transactions via ATM, online banking and phone banking. Member States should define a sufficient number of standard payment transactions that the provider must, on request, set up and execute on a monthly basis without imposing any charges, regardless of the channel used by the consumer. Where the consumer risks exceeding the maximum number of free transactions the provider should be required to inform the consumer accordingly. The provider should be permitted either to charge additional transactions in a cost-based way and aligned with its usual pricing policy or to refuse the execution of transactions. The provider should be permitted to demand a cost-based one-off charge for providing a payment card.
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 178 #
Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – recommendation 3 – paragraph 17 – section C
A minimum protection of incoming payments against garnishment shcould be included, in accordance with national legislation;
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 183 #
Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – recommendation 4 – paragraph 18
18. The legislation should aim to make consumers awareMember States are encouraged to launch campaigns raising awareness among the public about the possiavailability of opening a basic bank accounts. Accordingly, it should be accompanied by an ambitious communication strategy both at Union and Member State level and include duThese communication campaigns should be developed in cooperation with the representatives ofor payment service providers to provide clear information to consumer, consumer organisations or social advisory bodies.
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 188 #
Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – recommendation 4 – paragraph 19
19. Communication campaigns should be developed in cooperation with consumer organisations or social advisory bodies. At Union level, they should, in particular, raise awareness about the Union-wide availability of basic banking services and cross-border rights for access. At Member State level, communication should aim at giving necessary and understandable information about basic bank accounts’ features, conditions and practical steps while addressing specific concerns, including those of unbanked citizens and migrant workers. Communication campaigns at Member State level should be multi-lingual, taking into account the most relevant mother tongues spoken by minority populations or migrants.deleted
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 193 #
Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – recommendation 4 – paragraph 20
20. Providers within the scope of the legislation should be required to raise awareness about the availability of basic bank accounts. TMember States should ensure that payment service providers within the scope of the legislation make information available to consumers about they should be required to advertispecific features of the basic bank accounts on offering clear and comprehensive information via different available channels, namely the providers’ website and branches where standardised, durable media should be visible to consumers, their associated charges and their conditions of use. The consumer should also be informed that the purchase of additional services is not compulsory to access a basic bank account.
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 196 #
Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – recommendation 4 – paragraph 21
21. Providers should, after identifying consumers’ needs, recommend a basic bank account if it fits the needs expressed by the consumer. Consumers interested in opening a basic bank account should receive information in a durable medium setting out the services included, the fact that they are not tied to purchasing other products or services, and the cost, if any. The information should be understandable, standardised and as simple as possible and distributed in any Union language requested by the costumer. Staff should make sure that the consumer has understood what his rights and obligations are when contracting such an account.deleted
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 202 #
Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – recommendation 4 – paragraph 23
23. Member States should be required to ensure that providers provide national authorities with reliable information at least on the number of basic bank accounts opened, the number of applications for basic bank accounts refused and the grounds for such refusals, the number of terminations of such accounts, as well as the charges associated to basic bank accounts on an annual basis. Such information should be provided in an aggregated form.
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 205 #
Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – recommendation 4 – paragraph 24
24. Each year, national authoritiMember States should be required to provide the aggregated information as described in paragraph 23 in this annex to the Commission, and the European Banking Authority and the European Parliament, and t. The data should be published in an aggregated and understandable form.
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 208 #
Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – recommendation 5 – paragraph 26
26. Member States should be obliged to specify principles for sanctions to be imposed on providers for non-compliance with the basic bank account framework which ensure the sanctions constitute a deterrent, and competent authorities should be required and enabled to impose such sanctions. Funds collected via sanctions should be used for the purpose of the legislation to be adopted, for example for financial education or compensatory payments.
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 212 #
Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – recommendation 5 – paragraph 27
27. Member States should closely monitor any distortions of competition between providers of basic bank accounts. Where a number of providers disproportionately shoulder the cost of providing basic bank accounts, financial compensation should be provided. While in under-banked Member States, additional support for the development of adequate infrastructure should be considered, intra-sector redistribution mechanisms should be sufficient in Member States with high bank account penetration. Competent authorities should facilitate the creation of a compensation fund to be financed by payment service providers within the scope of the legislation. Should the number of basic bank accounts be disproportionate to the economic importance of the individual provider, the provider should be entitled to benefit from compensatory payments.deleted
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 216 #
Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – recommendation 5 – paragraph 28
28. Member States should be obliged to ensure that appropriate and effective complaints and redress procedures are established for the out-of-court settlement of disputes concerning the rights and obligations established under the principles set out in the legislation betweenof payment service providers and consumers, using existing bodies where appropriate. Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) bodies need to be independent, easily accessible accessible and its services free of charge. Its decisions should be legally binding. In order to ensure its impartiality, equal representation of providers, consumers and other users needs to be ensured. Member States should be required to ensure that all basic bank account providers adhere to one or more such bodies implementing such complaint and redress procedures.
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 223 #
Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – recommendation 6 – paragraph 31 – point (b)
(b) progress in ensuring access to basic banking services for all citizenoncerned customers in the Union, including both direct and indirect effects of the legislation on the elimination of financial exclusion and on the harmonisation and integration of retail banking throughout the Union;
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 225 #
Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – recommendation 6 – paragraph 31 – point (c)
(c) awareness and trust among the publicmong the concerned consumers about the availability and the features of basic bank accounts and consumers’ rights relating to those bank accounts;
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON
Amendment 226 #
Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – recommendation 6 – paragraph 32
32. The Commission should complement basic banking legislation by further initiatives aiming at further integration and harmonisation of retail banking services and prevention of financial exclusion. Such a package should: (a) improve competition in relation to banking services: (i) to ensure prices of fees related to bank accounts are transparent and comparable so that consumers can compare tariffs of different banks and shop around for better deals; (ii) to eliminate all technical and administrative obstacles to switching bank accounts to allow consumers to easily move their bank account from one bank to another; (b) improve sellers’ acceptance of different types of payment methods in order to allow consumers to reap the benefits offered by e-commerce; with this in mind, sellers should universally offer the possibility of paying by a basic bank card without any payment surcharge; (c) further harmonise national interpretations of anti-money laundering rules in order to ensure that such rules can no longer be used as an argument to deny access to a basic bank account; (d) enable access to fair credit and to combat over-indebtedness, the most important “new social risk” across the Union because full financial inclusion requires access to other essential banking services, such as low-interest credit and insurance coverage at decent and fair conditions or access to financial and counselling services.deleted
2012/03/30
Committee: ECON