EBA欧洲银行-Consumer-Trends-Report-2018-19_72页_1mb

EBA Consumer Trends Report 2018/19 Summary

Core Content

The EBA Consumer Trends Report (CTR) 2018/19 is a comprehensive analysis of consumer trends in the European Union (EU) regarding retail banking products and services. It highlights the key issues identified by national competent authorities (CAs), consumer associations, and industry stakeholders, and outlines the EBA’s plans to address them in the future. The report is structured into two main sections: Chapter 1 covers the evolution and trends of specific retail banking products, while Chapter 2 discusses topical consumer protection issues.

Main Products and Services Covered

• Mortgages
• Consumer credit
• Payment services and electronic money
• Payment accounts
• Deposits (including structured deposits)

Chapter 1: Retail Banking Products and Services

Mortgages

• Trends: Mortgages have seen a steady increase in both volume and value of lending across the EU over the past five years (2013–2018), representing over 77% of household loans in 2017.
• Lending amounts: Lending for house purchases rose from EUR 5.85 trillion in 2016 to EUR 6.08 trillion in 2018, an increase of EUR 229 billion.
• Interest rates: The annualised rate of lending for house purchases fell from 5.3% in 2008 to 1.8% in 2018, and remained relatively stable in 2017 and 2018.
• Legal framework: Governed by the Mortgage Credit Directive (MCD), which aims to create a transparent, efficient, and competitive internal EU market for mortgages.
• Key issues:
  • High levels of household indebtedness.
  • Concerns over lending practices and responsible lending.
  • Transparency and fairness of fees and charges.
  • Challenges in early repayment and refinancing.
  • Floor-rate clauses and collateral release.
  • Insufficient financial adviser training.

Consumer Credit

• Trends: Consumer credit has been relatively stable over the past five years, with a slight increase in credit for consumption.
• Key issues:
  • High cost of short-term credit.
  • Misuse of consumer credit.
  • Poor creditworthiness assessment.
  • Inadequate contractual and pre-contractual information.

Payment Services and Electronic Money

• Trends: Payment cards remain the most widely used payment instrument, though digital and online payment services are gaining traction.
• Key issues:
  • Application of new security requirements to emerging payment services.
  • Transparency of fees and charges.
  • Unauthorised or fraudulent transactions.

Payment Accounts

• Trends: A high percentage of the EU population holds payment accounts.
• Key issues:
  • High account management fees.
  • Refusal to open or blocking of payment accounts.
  • Concerns over transparency in fee structures.

Deposits

• Trends: Deposits have slightly decreased, in line with a declining savings rate.
• Key issues:
  • Negative impact of low interest rate environment.
  • Maintenance fees.
  • Unilateral revocation of contracts by financial institutions.

Chapter 2: Topical Issues

The EBA has identified the following topical issues as relevant to consumers in the EU, in order of relative importance:

Fees and Charges

• Key issue: Financial institutions increasingly rely on fees and charges as an alternative revenue stream due to declining interest income.
• Concerns:
  • Fees on payment accounts.
  • Cost of payment services.
  • Cost of loans.
• EBA action: Assess the effectiveness of regulatory measures to improve transparency and disclosure.

Indebtedness, Responsible Lending and Creditworthiness Assessment

• Key issue: Consumers are at risk of over-indebtedness due to low interest rates, poor creditworthiness assessment, and multi-channel marketing.
• EBA action: Further assess these issues to identify appropriate measures for consumer protection.

Financial Literacy and Education

• Key issue: Low financial education leads to negative consequences for consumers.
• Concerns:
  • Need for targeted education on new financial providers and complex tools.
• EBA action: Continue monitoring national initiatives and encourage financial institutions to provide tailored information.

Transparency and Disclosure of Pre-contractual Information and Contractual Terms

• Key issue: Concerns about transparency in banking fees and unilateral changes to contractual terms.
• EBA action: Evaluate the effectiveness of current initiatives and consider further actions.

Data Breaches and Cyber-security

• Key issue: Digitalisation exposes consumers to risks such as data misuse and cybercrime.
• EBA action: Facilitate cooperation between CAs and harmonise approaches to address these risks.

Cross-border Selling of Products and Services

• Key issue: Lack of awareness and understanding of responsibilities and redress mechanisms in cross-border agreements.
• EBA action: Ensure effective cooperation between home and host CAs in supervising cross-border services.

Key Findings

• The CTR 2018/19 is the first biennial report and will be published every two years to allow time for the EBA to respond to identified issues and avoid repetition.
• The report is based on data from national CAs, consumer associations, and industry stakeholders, with additional input from public sources like the ECB and Eurostat.
• Some topical issues (e.g., data breaches and cross-border selling) are new or have changed compared to the 2017 report, while others (e.g., fees and indebtedness) have persisted.
• The EBA intends to use the findings of the 2018/19 report to shape its consumer protection work programme for 2020 and beyond.

Conclusion

The EBA Consumer Trends Report 2018/19 provides a detailed overview of the current state of retail banking products and services in the EU, highlighting both the evolution of these services and the key consumer issues that need attention. It serves as a foundation for future regulatory and supervisory actions, ensuring that consumer protection remains a central focus in the dynamic financial landscape of the EU.