Redressing the Imbalance Between Financial Service Consumer and Provider in Ireland

Thursday, October 16, 2014 - 12:30 to 13:15
Room 110, Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham

Dr. Stuart Stamp will speak at an upcoming seminar hosted by the Centre on Household Assets and Savings Management (CHASM). Dr. Stamp's talk entitled "Redressing the imbalance between financial service consumer and provider in Ireland" will take placeon Thursday, October 16th, from 12.30-13.15 in Room 110, Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham.
 
To register your place, contact: Helen Harris
Email: h.m.a.harris@bham.ac.uk

Seminar Context:
Financial service consumers are an essential part of an open market economy such as Ireland's, and thus require a significant degree of protection when dealing with better-resourced financial service providers. This paper presents the key findings of recently published research undertaken by the Free Legal Advice Centres into the adequacy of legal protections for consumers of credit and other financial services in Ireland. The study involved extensive legislative and policy analysis, supplemented by qualitative interviews with consumers of financial services who had taken complaints to the Financial Service Ombudsman. The backdrop to the study is the now infamous Irish credit boom (1994-2007) which has left many consumers struggling under the weight of considerable personal debt, and potentially facing financial exclusion into the future.

The findings suggest a major factor in the current personal debt crisis to be the Irish legislative architecture for the protection of financial service (particularly credit) consumers which has long been, and continues to be, somewhat flawed. These flaws are due to a confluence of factors which include: inadequate and unhelpfully transposed EU Directives; an over-reliance by regulatory authorities on legally questionable and arguably 'diluted' Codes of Conduct; complaints procedures that consumers find difficult to use (and which better suit institutions); and an appeals mechanism that is proving inaccessible to many complainants.

Redressing the power imbalance therefore, requires reform at a number of levels, and this is a matter of pressing concern as other than lender pragmatism, there is currently little to prevent a return to the irresponsible lending practices that contributed to the growth of an unsustainable credit bubble, shuld the Irish economy continue to recover as many are forecasting.