Banks and Consumers

BANKS AND CONSUMERS
I Banks and consumers –
a relationship based on trust
It is not for the state or for an entrepreneurial
organisation to decide who will dominate the
market . . . ; it is for the consumer alone.
Ludwig Erhard
This credo of the father of the social market
economy has lost none of its relevance. It
rests on the concept of informed, responsible
consumers who take their own purchasing
decisions and who bear the economic
consequences of their actions. Viewed this
way, consumer policy is an integral part of
an economic policy which relies as much on
competition and individual initiative as it does
on market transparency and autonomous
decision-making. Without responsible
consumers, competition cannot flourish.
Consumer policy must therefore ensure that the
conditions are in place for consumers to access
thorough, objective information. Forwardlooking
consumer protection, moreover,
needs to strike the right balance between
the interests of consumers and businesses.
The German private commercial banks
consider themselves actively involved
in consumer policy. They are aware of
the associated responsibility – also and
especially in the wake of the financial
crisis, in the course of which consumer
confidence in the banking industry was
damaged. Policymakers and the public are
quite rightly asking what lessons banks have
learned. The private commercial banks are
aware – particularly against this backdrop
– that special demands are placed on their
business relations with retail clients. In
order to meet this responsibility, they have
adopted a comprehensive consumer policy
scheme. This scheme is being continually
adapted: in response to the changing legal
framework at European Union and national
level, to changing customer needs and to
questions raised by policymakers and the
public.
Restoring confidence in investment
advice, in mortgage lending or in the
handling of problems between customers
and banks – it is becoming ever more
important, especially in daily dealings with
customers, to give even more consideration
to differing individual interests. Some
customers want a lot of protective rules
in order to avoid risk. Others favour fewer
rules and restrictions and can manage with
a minimum of information and explanations
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