Disintermediation, Consumer Protection and the Duty to Provide Advice

Édouard VIEILLEFOND Secrétaire général adjoint, direction de la régulation et des affaires internationales, Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF).

Protecting retail savings has taken on crucial importance today. The place of banks and financial markets has evolved considerably in just a few years, driven by several factors: the rise of new players and insufficiently-regulated financing circuits; new risks with ever-more-complex financial products; and technological innovations upsetting the existing regulations. These apparently-technical debates have a very immediate impact on the perception the general public have of the workings of financial markets, a perception often tinged with wariness. Several examples drawn from European texts currently being debated or implemented highlight the fundamental role – even more so since the crisis – of financial regulation today.