Coinciding with the opening of our new offices, located on Gran Vía 39, first floor, Proa Comunicación has resumed the celebration of the Communication Observatories in which, as you know, we address current issues with a relevant speaker.
The thirteenth edition of the Proa Communication Observatory, held on 26 September, featured the former president of the National Securities Market Commission, Manuel Conthe, who, under the title "The Communication Observatory: The Future of Communication", gave the following speech "A question of image....and ethics. Good banking practices".The report reflected on the actions that have done so much damage to the image of theThe financial institutions' role in the
What is going wrong? Is it an industry problem, or a problem of contagion? Are business/profit and good practice at odds with each other? Where should the emphasis be placed to change this perception?
Conthe, who is well acquainted with thehe financial sector both for its passage by the Directorate-General for the Treasury and Financial Policy (1998-2005) and for the presidency of the CNMV (2004-2007), as Vice-Presidency for the Financial Sector at the World Bank (1999-2001) and, now, for its role as arbiter in some of the financial disputes between banks and SMEsThe EU's new EU Presidency, he addressed the issue directly, dotting all the i's and crossing all the t's.
Conthe began his talk by pointing out nuances. "It is true that financial institutions are face circumstances that work against them, such as the fact that they are not The media are more interested in negative news than in positive news; that it is easy to see the erThe fact that there may have been some clients who, knowing the risks they were taking, now feign ignorance and wrap themselves in sheep's clothing".
With these qualifications in mind, pointed to mistakes made by some financial institutions. "Some have sold complex financial products under confusing trade names.". The lack of training in many cases of the office networks and the lack of interest of the entities in the notaries will not limit themselves to notarise mortgage loans, but rather to emphasise their advisory function y at to make sure that the client understood what he was signing", as well as "to make sure that the client understood what he was signing".
The sector has also - in its view - made mistakes.
Having made the diagnosis, he pointed to the solutions to "reconcile with public opinion" as the "apologise".take measures to improve the training of the office network, as well as to contribute to the financial education of the citizens of the European Union.
give us and their own customers, task already started by financial supervisors; arrive at an industry agreement with the notarial association on "best practices", which - he suggests - should include that the mortgage loans are signed in the notary's office and not in the bank's office. "It gives more independence," he says. Conthe also suggested strengthening the figure of the Customer Ombudsman -They certainly do meritorious work that could be highlighted" - and to highlight the taxes paid by the entities, as an indicator essential of Corporate Social Responsibility. "Is there anything more responsible towards society than paying taxes? He wondered". He therefore praised the BBVA initiative in this respect.
Only in this way, with these and other actions, better taken by choice than by legal imposition -"The obligatory is not valued equally; and if one already senses what is going to come by law, it is better to be ahead of the game"Financial institutions could regain the confidence they have lost and which they so badly need to regain.