“IX Conference of Ausbanc International - The benefits and prejudices for the consumers of regulatory policies”
The fourth work table developed during the IX Conference of Ausbank International which took place in San José, Costa Rica, was centered in the discussion over the possible benefits or prejudices for the consumers of the regulation or self-regulation of the financial systems.
The postures in this debate were confronted between the proponents of the table. While the legal counsel of the Cámara de Bancos e Instituciones de Costa Rica (Chamber of Banks and Financial Institutions s of Costa Rica), Luis Ortiz Zamora and the legal counsel of Scotiabank, Manfred Sáenz Montero, defended the regulated self - regulation, the lawyer and representative of the Asociación de Consumidores Libres (Association of Free Consumers) Adriana Rojas Rivero, differed from both, when establishing that neither regulation or self- regulation were set for the consumer´s advantage.
Luis Ortiz defended the self - reguled regulation as a method of protection for the users of financial services, and accused men of perverting its concept. The expert established parameters for the “regulation” concept, when indicating that “for the first time in the XVIII and XIX centuries it is used to designate the capacities of the mechanic ingenious or the organizations to recover their own balance”. Ortiz pointed out that in Law, it is used to identify any declaration of state intervention that comprehends the alteration of a sector, through the usage of binding legal instruments. The bank adviser also declared that “ self- regulation is not equivalent to de-regulation, nor does self - regulation mean self - supervision” and added that one of the main objectives is not only to protect consumers but also to create trust in the consumer: “it’s been a while since banking regulations have been focused on the protection of the consumer, either investor or client, because the consumer does not know where he has invested his money until he has actually done so, and then, its too late to regret it”.
Manfred Sáenz Montero, on his behalf, talked about the good faith in business as a manifestation of justice and pointed out that this activity must be re-established in support of the consumer. Sáenz established that these relations were necessary and that in reality, they are not antagonists, but they are two faces of a same coin. “Like in the offer and demand law- he added- there is complementariness between both”.
Sáenz Montero exposed the popular phrase: “The customer is our raison of being” and questioned if that expression is a declaration of principles, or, simply, a speech. He also expressed the respect towards clients’ rights as a differencing element between companies and mentioned a new business model: long term relationships, and the link between the clients and the survival inquiry: “we can’t pretend we’ll survive if we abuse our clients”.
Adriana Rojas indicated that there “is no regulation or self - regulation in benefit of the users, but in favor of the financial institutions in my country. The expert did recognize that it could exist in the future, “months ago, asking a financial institution to modify their politics to take consciousness of which are the necessities of the users was practically impossible, but today, it has changed”.
She also emphasized that “we as consumers, do not succeed in the jurisdictional stages, even if the trial ends in our favor”. Concerning self -regulation, she said that “looking at it in a full perspective, we have internal regulations in the banking, political and inter institutional entities”, and asked herself “why not include the adherence contracts? According to Rojas, the users do not have a saying, “we either adhere or do not adhere; we even have adherence contracts with abusive clauses”.
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