In recent years, with the rapid development of China's financial industry, the total number of bancassurance consumers continues to increase, and financial products continue to be rich and diverse. Protecting the rights and interests of financial consumers has become a must for high-quality development of financial institutions. Sina Finance's annual planning of "New Financial Mission" launched "Zero Distance of Financial Consumer Protection", in-depth dialogue with executives of major financial institutions, and contribute to the protection of consumer rights and interests.
In recent years, with the increase of residents' demand for wealth management, consumers are increasingly connected with financial institutions. It has become the consensus of the whole industry to attach importance to consumer rights and maintain financial security. What are the characteristics of consumer protection in the financial industry? What achievements have been made in protecting the rights and interests of financial consumers in Shanghai? What are the future efforts and breakthroughs? This issue of Zero Distance of Financial Consumer Insurance talked to Niu Xuecheng, Director of Consumer Insurance Division of Shanghai Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau.
Niu Xuecheng believes that the current protection of the rights and interests of financial consumers is difficult, demanding, time effective and wide in scope. "Shanghai Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau insists on supervision for the people, has carried out a series of innovative explorations around strengthening consumer rights protection, established the Shanghai model of 'full process financial consumer rights protection system', and has achieved good practical results." Niu Xuecheng said so.
Turning to the "hardest hit areas" of banking complaints such as credit card and personal loan business, Niu Xuecheng said that all institutions should combine the types of business and reasons for the high number of complaints, and implement policies by precise classification. They should not be limited to economic accounts, but should also calculate more big accounts and long-term accounts, so as to gradually alleviate the situation of the high total number of complaints about credit card and personal loan.
Establish the Shanghai model of "full process financial consumer protection system"
Sina Finance: With the economic and social development, the protection of consumer rights is becoming more and more important. What are the characteristics of consumer protection in the financial industry?
Niu Xuecheng: I think there are four main characteristics of the current financial consumer protection work.
First, it is difficult 。 At present, the construction of Shanghai International Financial Center is in an important strategic opportunity period to further improve its energy level. At the same time, it is also facing major challenges such as complex and changeable financial environment and multiple risk incentives. Disputes between financial consumers and financial institutions are frequent and easy to occur, and the social impact of dispute resolution is easy to expand. Many problems are long-term, arduous, and complex, and need to be persistent and long-term.
Second, high requirements. Protecting the rights and interests of financial consumers is a work that has a close relationship with the people, and it is the concrete embodiment of the people centered development thought in the financial field. At present, financial consumers' sense of self-protection has been significantly enhanced. The political and people oriented nature of financial work requires us to adhere to the people first, always stand firm on the people's position, listen to the people's voices, resolve people's contradictions, solve people's reasonable demands, and effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of financial consumers.
The third is strong timeliness. The letter and visit consumer protection work should follow the principle of "four early and five most", that is, early screening, early detection, early warning and early disposal, to solve the biggest problem and achieve the best comprehensive benefits at the fastest speed, from the lowest level and at the lowest cost. We should respond to the concerns of the masses in a timely manner, try to digest the contradictions at the grass-roots level and deal with them in the bud, avoid escalation of contradictions, and improve the satisfaction of the masses.
Fourth, the scope is wide. The financial consumer protection work covers a wide range of rights, including the right to protect financial consumers' property security, the right to know, the right to choose, the right to fair trade, the right to claim compensation according to law, the right to education, the right to be respected, and the right to information security. It is integrated into all aspects of the organization's business. The organization should ensure that consumers are treated fairly in its business activities, and fulfill the social responsibilities of the industry, Build a positive interactive relationship of "coexistence, win-win and common development" with consumers.
Sina Finance: What achievements have been made in the protection of the rights and interests of financial consumers in Shanghai?
Niu Xuecheng: Shanghai Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau has adhered to the principle of supervision for the people, carried out a series of innovative explorations around strengthening consumer protection, established the Shanghai model of "full process financial consumer protection system", and achieved good practical results.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the protection of financial consumers' rights and interests in Shanghai has been in the forefront for a long time.
First, technology escort. In April 2013, it took the lead in carrying out the "double recording" of bank financial product sales nationwide.
The second is to reshape the process. In 2015, it took the lead in proposing and implementing the mechanism of "letters and visits, reports and complaints" classified and handled according to law. From March 1, 2020, the CBRC system will fully implement the mechanism of handling letters and visits, reports and complaints by category.
Third, improve the system. In May 2016, it guided the establishment of the first private non enterprise“ Bank of Shanghai Industrial Dispute Mediation Center, and the "Shanghai Banking and Insurance Dispute Mediation Center" was established in February 2021 to further improve the diversified dispute resolution system.
Fourth, exert joint efforts. In March 2023, Shanghai Banking and Insurance Dispute Mediation Center was instructed to sign memorandums of cooperation with courts and banking institutions, jointly build dispute mediation workstations, and promote the formation of a financial rule of law system with complete consumer protection functions, strong financial supervision, and efficient dispute resolution.
In the past two years, the Shanghai Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau has successively carried out the work of "special governance year for consumer insurance" and "deepening governance year for consumer insurance", taking consumer insurance work as an important benchmark for fulfilling the original mission in the new era, focusing on deepening the construction of "full process financial consumer rights protection system", and promoting the implementation of the "top project" for consumer insurance by the banks and insurance institutions under their jurisdiction, Strengthen the review mechanism and appropriateness management of consumer insurance, promote the implementation of the "Maple Bridge Experience" and the construction of a diversified dispute resolution mechanism, comprehensively improve the protection of financial consumers' rights and interests and the quality and efficiency of serving the real economy, and provide strong support and protection for the high-quality development of the banking and insurance industry in Shanghai.
Dispose of conflicts in the bud and resolve them at the source
Sina Finance: The Administrative Measures for the Protection of Consumers' Rights and Interests of Banking and Insurance Institutions was officially implemented. What aspects do you think the consumer insurance work in the financial industry can make efforts and breakthroughs in?
Niu Xuecheng: Let me talk about our ideas from four aspects. （1） Strictly standardize the management of financial product sales, and strengthen risk warning and information disclosure. First, promote the standardization of financial product introduction elements, and provide consumers with accurate, comprehensive, concise and understandable product information. The second is to strengthen the management of consumer appropriateness, improve the adaptability of financial products to consumer demand, and provide rich and appropriate financial products in accordance with laws and regulations.
（2） We will improve the working mechanism of "two guarantees and three ends" for consumer protection, and implement the principle of "four early and five most". "Two guarantees" refers to promoting the bancassurance institutions within the jurisdiction to build a working pattern of integrating the whole process into the elements of consumer insurance and taking full responsibility for consumer insurance. "Three guarantees" refers to focusing on consumer insurance at the source, strengthening consumer insurance from the beginning, and leading the main leaders to take the lead in consumer insurance and improving the level of consumer insurance work. At the same time, we should vigorously carry forward the "Maple Bridge experience", follow the principle of "four early and five most" in the process of solving the crisis of petition consumer insurance, and deal with conflicts in the bud and at the source. This also puts forward higher requirements for front-line financial practitioners at the grass-roots level. Therefore, all bancassurance institutions should strengthen the cultivation of grassroots consumer awareness, improve the service level of the industry, and penetrate consumer insurance work to the front-line.
（3） Continue to do a good job in financial knowledge education and publicity. Financial knowledge education and publicity is an important means to protect the rights and interests of financial consumers. Shanghai's banking and insurance industry carries out a number of industrial financial knowledge intensive education and publicity activities every year. We will continue to urge all banks and insurance institutions to establish financial knowledge education and publicity mechanisms, actively carry out consumer education and risk tips, enhance consumers' awareness of highly specialized and knowledgeable financial products, and improve consumers' financial literacy and risk prevention ability.
（4） We will improve the mechanism for resolving financial disputes in a diversified way, and strengthen the main responsibility of the bancassurance institutions for handling complaints. First, the main responsibility of the agency should be compacted, the agency should be urged to constantly standardize the complaint handling system, promote mediation at the lower level, improve the ability to quickly respond to difficult disputes, further strengthen education and publicity, and resolve conflicts "early, early, and on the front line". The second is to promote the deep integration of dispute mediation in the banking and insurance industry, gradually optimize and change the inherent mode of negotiation based mediation, give consideration to "law, reason and emotion", increase psychological counseling, and ensure the common development of banking and insurance mediation.
Financial institutions should calculate large accounts and long-term accounts
Accurately classify and implement policies to deal with complaints in "hard hit areas"
Sina Finance: The protection of the rights and interests of key consumer groups "one old, one young and one new" has become the top priority. How does the financial industry work in this field?
Niu Xuecheng: First, further strengthen the education and publicity of financial knowledge, carry out precision education around the characteristics of key groups of "one old, one young and one new", and improve the financial literacy of key groups. The second is to strengthen the management of consumer appropriateness and urge institutions to follow the principle of "institutions understand customers and customers understand risks". Third, strengthen supervision, crack down on serious violations of the legitimate rights and interests of "one old, one young and one new" financial consumers, and create a clean and healthy financial market environment.
Sina Finance: Complaints about credit card and personal loan businesses are still the "hardest hit areas" for banking complaints. How do you think to protect consumers in these areas?
Niu Xuecheng: First, advance the risk threshold and strengthen the consumer insurance review mechanism. When designing and launching new products and new businesses, all bancassurance institutions should effectively control the product access. In the design and development of financial products and services, pricing management, agreement formulation and other links, they should evaluate and review the policies, systems, business rules, charge pricing, agreement terms, and promotional texts that may affect consumers, and identify and prompt related risks.
The second is to pay attention to the efficiency of complaint handling and improve the ability of root cause management. Complaints should not only address the symptoms, but also the root causes. All bancassurance institutions should focus on solving the business problems and service weaknesses reflected in complaints, and reduce complaints from the source. First, We should strengthen centralized management, integrate consumer protection resources, improve the efficiency of handling initial complaints and visits on the basis of clearing up the case, and strictly control the increment ； Second, Complaint handling should not only focus on individual appeasement, but also strengthen root cause management. For the repeated occurrence of similar problems of the same quality, it is necessary to comprehensively reduce the hidden dangers of consumer protection complaints by means of revising the system, backtracking product design, reforming systems and processes, etc.
Third, resolve disputes in a diversified way and improve the efficiency of conflict resolution. All bancassurance institutions should actively carry out diversified dispute resolution work, make full use of the resources of Shanghai Banking and Insurance Dispute Mediation Center, take mediation as an important starting point to implement the "Maple Bridge Experience", and strive to digest conflicts at the grass-roots level and deal with them in the bud.
The fourth is to implement policies in a precise and classified manner to comprehensively alleviate the situation of high total amount. All institutions should combine the business types and causes of the high number of complaints, and implement policies by precise classification. They should not be limited to economic accounts, but should also calculate more large accounts and long-term accounts, so as to gradually alleviate the current situation of the high total number of credit card and personal loan complaints.
Promote the regulation of illegal "agency surrender"
Sina Finance: Illegal "agency surrender" has disturbed the normal financial order by taking advantage of consumers' psychological weaknesses. In this regard, what can be done to create a good financial market environment?
Niu Xuecheng: In recent years, our bureau has deeply promoted the regulation of illegal "agency surrender" and has achieved good results. In order to create a good financial ecology, I think we should strengthen education and publicity, and carry out a multi sector joint attack. Specifically:
First, we will further strengthen the education and publicity work in all directions and dimensions. Strengthen industry publicity, take Shanghai Banking Association, Shanghai Insurance Association and Shanghai Banking and Insurance Dispute Mediation Center as the leading units, provide a platform for propaganda and education for the industry, and define three topics: First, Provide sufficient risk warning against the hazards and risks of illegal "agency surrender"; Second, Educate consumers to establish a scientific concept of financial consumption and safeguard their rights through formal channels; Third, Cooperate with the public security, petition office, online trust, local financial supervision bureau and other departments to release criminal cases against illegal "agency surrender" to the public, effectively deter illegal "agency surrender" behavior.
The second is to cut off the channels for illegal "agency surrender". At present, some institutions within the jurisdiction actively collect clues about illegal "agency surrender" propaganda and customer acquisition on the Internet, timely hand them over to the local network information department, and issue lawyer letters to the corresponding network platform, effectively cutting off the channels for illegal "agency surrender" customer acquisition.
The third is to cooperate with the public security and judicial organs to carry out criminal strikes. Continue to strengthen the research on illegal "agency surrender", strengthen the linkage with the local public security and judicial authorities, guide the bancassurance institutions to invest sufficient human, financial and material resources, actively provide clues to illegal crimes, and cooperate in combating illegal and criminal acts of "agency surrender". We will vigorously purify the financial market, optimize the financial ecology, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of financial consumers by continuing to carry out criminal strikes.
Sina Finance: From the perspective of consumers, do you have any suggestions on how to protect your own rights and interests? How should consumers deal with disputes?
Niu Xuecheng: The majority of financial consumers should establish a correct awareness of rights protection and rationally safeguard their own rights and interests. In case of consumer rights disputes with bancassurance institutions, they should be reflected through the official channels of the bancassurance institutions, such as official websites, official WeChat, national unified service hotline, etc., and negotiate with the bancassurance institutions first to actively explain the true situation and reasonable demands; If no agreement can be reached, it can apply to a special financial mediation institution for mediation, or file a lawsuit to the people's court to claim compensation according to laws and regulations; If property, personal information security and other aspects are found to be infringed, it shall be reported to the public security organ in a timely manner.
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