Protection of banking and financial product users
The protection of consumers and users is a must in a market economy and this should be combined with the principle of free enterprise, which is an especially sensitive issue when referring to the banking sector.
The existence of various applicable laws (e.g., Act 26/1988 on Discipline and Intervention of Credit Institutions; Legislative RD 1/2007 which approves the consolidated text of the General Law for the Protection of Consumers and Users; Act 7/1995 on consumer credit; Act 2/1994 on subrogation and modification of mortgage loans; Act 7/1998 on general contract conditions; Order dated 12 December 1989, complemented by the Order dated 5 May 1994, on transparency in the financial conditions of mortgage loans; and Circular 8/1990 of September 7, subject to successive modifications by subsequent Circulars of the Bank of Spain) create obligations concerning the dual requirement of transparency and information that financial institutions should offer to their customers.
Notwithstanding the above, there are a number of problems, e.g. regulatory differences and the resulting legal insecurity; the lack of banking regulation from the private perspective which is still true today; the lack of coordination between administrations; the lack of a system to resolve disputes that is truly effective for the user; the absence of the principles of consumer rights insofar as banking discipline standards are concerned; the lack of development of Autonomous Community competencies to regulate credit and banking as well as consumption issues, which results in a complex conflict casuistry.