24 Amendments of Sven GIEGOLD related to 2016/2056(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 a (new)
Citation 7 a (new)
- having regard to the April 2016 European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority 'Opinion to EU Institutions on a Common Framework for Risk Assessment and Transparency for IORPs',
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 18 a (new)
Citation 18 a (new)
- having regard to the EBA response to the EU Commission Green Paper on Retail Financial Services (COM 2015(630)) of 21 March 2016,
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the dynamics of retail financial services markets in many Member States, featuring a combination of high concentration and inadequate competition, tend to result in limited choice and low value for money; and investors face a low interest rate environment and simultaneously many investment products with high costs, which results in more money going to financial intermediaries, and less to the real economy and retail investors;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital Aa (new)
Recital Aa (new)
Aa. whereas it is essential to give the highest priority in the relevant Union legislation to the issues of access, effective competition and consumer protection in relation to the relatively small number of products that are actually necessary for participation in economic life;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the rapid transformation brought about by digitisation and fintech innovation not only has the potential, if prudently managed, to creates new and often better financial products for consumers, but also involves key challenges in terms of security, data protection, consumer protection and taxation;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Underlines the importance of promoting positive developments in this market by creating and maintaining a level playing field where the rules are as technology- and business-model-neutral as is feasible; points out that such an approach is necessary, not least in order to give new and innovative SMEs a fair chance; underlines that a proportionate approach of "same services, same risks, same rules" should apply to all companies regardless of their sector or location to promote fair competition; highlights that the creation of "contact points" which allow stakeholders to report unlawful application of EU passporting provisions could foster market integration;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Emphasises, in particular because of low levels of consumer trust and satisfaction, that the Green Paper initiative can succeed only if it has a strong focus on creating an EU market in which well- protected consumers have access to transparent, straightforward and good- value-for-money products; calls on the European Supervisory Authorities to regularly assess the impact of tying practices on prices and competition of retail financial services; emphasises the benefit of providing customers with simple, standardised and portable products, as well as default options and benchmarks in different product categories that would match the needs of the majority of consumers who are not engaged in making active financial choices; welcomes the work on the Pan- European Personal Pension Product (PEPP) initiated by EIOPA; calls on the Commission to take legislative initiative to introduce standardized and basic financial services products in the field of car and travel insurance and basic investment products, building on the success of the Basic Bank Accounts Directive and elaborating further on options to provide basic payment account with strengthened cross-border functions;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Recalls that all initiatives based on the Green Paper should be compatible with stepping up the fight against tax fraud and tax evasion, including more efforts to elaborate a Common Tax Identification number;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Notes the increasing complexity of retail financial products; insists on the need to develop initiatives and instruments that allow consumers to identify safe and simple products within the range of products available to themstresses that simplicity and standardisation of the products that are most essential to consumers’ needs also vastly improves comparability and beneficial competition, focused on the value proposition of the whole service provided, rather than adding contractual complexity that is mainly marketing-driven; insists on the need to develop initiatives and instruments that allow consumers to identify safe and simple products within the range of products available to them; urges the Commission to play a more proactive role in using the Capital Markets Union to support the growing Sustainable and Responsible Investment (SRI) market by promoting sustainable investments , effective and standardised Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria and the adequate reflection of such criteria in investment management systems and disclosure standards as in IORPD; further urges the Commission to promote ESG "rating services" and a consistent framework for the green bonds market; supports initiatives such as the Key Investment Information Document for undertakings for collective investments in transferrable securities (UCITS) and the Key Information Document for packaged retail and insurance-based investment products (PRIIPs); urges the regulation of performance fees to make them symmetric and broaden their scope to capture a longer timeframe;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Recalls the recent developments in the legislative framework for the banking sector, in particular the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive and the Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive; insists on the need to inform consumers fully about the impact of the new rules particularly if their deposits or investments are at risk from bail-in;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses, not least given that otherwise positive digitisation processes could trigger exclusionary tendencies, that the financial inclusion perspective should always be kept in mind, and that measures should be taken to ensure that all consumers have access to at least the most essential financial services; specifically calls on the Commission to ensure that citizens continue to have access to best offers in the internal market also through non-digital channels to avoid financial exclusion;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Notes that frontline employees at financial institutions and financial service providers have a crucial role to play in opening up retail services to all strands of society and to consumers all over Europe; points out that such employees should, in principle and based on good labour conditions, be given the training, and time necessary to be able to serve their customers accurately, and should not be made subject to sales targets or inducements that could bias or distort their advice; notes that inappropriate cross- selling and mis-selling of financial products and services are mainly caused by sales-driven remuneration of sales staff and intermediaries, emphasizes that an improvement of advice requires especially a broader offer of standardised retail investment product, effective investor information documents for complex and simple products, and a strengthening of fee-based independent advice;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Points out the shortcoming in the national implementation of the MiFID II directive, which has led in many cases to labour-intensive reporting requirements for intermediaries, which do not effectively enhance consumer protection and go beyond MiFID II itself; calls for lessons to be learned from this experience;
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Emphasises that, in order for the single market in retail financial services to be efficient and dynamic, there should be no unnecessary or unfair differences between euro and non-euro Member States; notes that a consistent level of consumer protection regulation and supervision across all Member States is one of the main mandates conferred on the ESAs; is concerned that EBA reports that is has received very few direct mandates in Level 1 legislation to develop detailed requirements for any of the banking products that fall into its scope of action and that its member authorities could then enforce; further notes that consumer protection legislation for the financial sector is fragmented across a large number of Union legal acts (including MCD, PAD, PSD1/2, EMD, DGSD, MiFID I, IORPD, Solvency II, IMD, CRDIV and PRIIPs) with the focus being on products despite the fact that the sale of many financial products tends to be driven by consumer needs; calls on the Commission to explore the possibility of one, single harmonised Level-1 text on retail conduct and consumer protection rules in the financial sector;
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Deplores the unnecessarily long transposition periods often put into consumer protection-related legislation such as PAD, PRIIPS, MCD, PSD2 and the uneven level and speed of implementation that persists; calls on the Commission, as guardian of the Treaty, to propose and defend more ambitious implementation deadlines and take action against failures to respect them;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Observes that the EU-level capacity for data collection and analysis in this field will probably need to be strengthened; calls on the Commission to follow a thorough methodology, making full use of the output of the ESA's monitoring work mandated in the EBA regulation, in order to identify benefits and risks of different innovations and any legislative action required to strike the right balance between them; notes that it will be necessary to give some of the most promising ideas in the Green Paper a broad and adequate empirical underpinning before it is possible to move on to legislative processes; stresses that methodologies and assumptions of such empirical work should be appropriately disclosed;
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Emphasises that the enforcement of EU and national financial and consumer legislation needs to be strengthened; stresses that the European Supervisory Authorities should step up their activities on consumer issues and that the agencies responsible in a number of Member States should start to work more actively and competently in this field; calls on the Commission to consider omnibus legislation to move from the current patchwork towards the completion of a solid consistent consumer transparency framework, including supervisory convergence between member states; calls on the Commission to extend the ESAs' consumer protection mandate in the framework of the upcoming review of the funding and governance of the ESAs; mandate the ESAs to lead the work on convergence of the conduct-of-business supervision practices between Member States;
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Urges the Commission to play a more proactive role in using the Capital Markets Union to support the growing Sustainable and Responsible Investment (SRI) market by promoting sustainable investments , effective and standardised Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria and the adequate reflection of such criteria in investment management systems and disclosure standards as in IORPD; further urges the Commission to promote ESG "rating services" and a consistent framework for the green bonds market;
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls for the Commission to intensify its work against discrimination on grounds of residence in the European market on retail financial services and, if necessary, to complement the planned general proposals to end unjustified geo- blocking with further legislative initiatives targeted specifically at the financial sector; stresses the need to take into account the necessarily geographically constrained role of local, real economy-oriented banking; calls for an initiative for a simple and strong regulatory framework for small banks ("a small banking box") in the course of the review of CRD/R IV;
Amendment 205 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Urges the Commission, inter alia on the basis of the structure of the Payment Accounts Directive (PAD) and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority’'s analysis of the insurance sector, to put together a step-by- step action plan for building and promoting a well- organised and easy-to- access-and-use EU comparison portal covering most or all parts of the retail financial services market; which should however not only be focused on price levels but also the quality of the service by taking into consideration other criteria such as availability of branch networks, face to face contacts and sustainability of business practices;
Amendment 228 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Urges the Commission and the Member States, by working carefully on the implementation of the eIDAS Regulation and the new anti-money laundering legislation, inter alia, to create – as should be entirely feasible – a general environment in which robust security requirements are combined with fair and simple procedures for consumers to identify themselves; Notes that a standardised online non-face-to-face identification could promote the provision of cross-border financial services and allow consumers to benefit from price reduction and increased choice; underlines that it is crucial to ensure appropriate data protection and redress procedures to ensure adequate consumer protection as well as effective identification to fulfil the requirements of the EU anti-money laundering framework;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Calls on the Commission to follow up on EIOPAs proposal for a Common Framework for Risk Assessment and Transparency for IORPs, in order to promote a sound pillar 2 system across the Union, comparability of schemes and contribute to a better understanding of the benefits and risks to consumers by regulators, supervisors and consumers themselves;
Amendment 257 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Asks the Commission to study further the benefits and costs of guaranteeing domestic and cross-border portability in various parts of the retail financial services market (for example as regards pension and insurance products and bank account numbers);
Amendment 260 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Calls on the Commission and the ESAs to work on the creation of a European Consumer Protection Authority to achieve a standard effective consumer protection throughout the European Single Market and to enhance investors and consumers trust in European financial services;