Poster: Borrower as Consumer—standards and practice

tumblr_inline_n5lxjtF0gX1sg46ltSummarizing a key theme discussed and debated throughout the day is the idea of treating consumer financial products in the same way as all traded goods and services: with clear trading standards and protections (with recourse for consumers).

  • Do we need a citizens version of Hodge led Public Accounts Committee
  • What are the welfare costs to the state/tax payer of product failure?

tumblr_inline_n5lxkmlnLh1sg46ltThe main tests is whether (financial/retail banking) products and services are fit for purpose? This is assessed by consumer themselves.
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  • financial products (from mortgage all the way to CDOs) subject to product standards is a revolutionary idea
  • ‘product’ as a product of a network of financial experts, everyone extracts (fees?) upfront
  • DIY standards and regulations—excellent!
  • Advertising bans, cap interest, put the onus on the banks
  • and structural causes why credit is need by all… why has debt become the safety-net?
  • Living our lives with 700 products and service types and many are more important than debt
First published in May 2014