Over the last year there has been a real battle on the part of the Supervisory Authorities to increase the defenses and protections against investors/savers. In July 2014 MiFID II came into force, issued by the European Securitis and Marketa Authority (ESMA) and aimed at strengthening the trading transparency regime, as well as increasing the responsibility of financial intermediaries and the awareness of investors who make investment in financial markets.
Again in 2014, ESMA addressed the markets and financial intermediaries also through the issue of two Opinions, "MiFID practices for firms selling complex products" and "Structured Retail Products - Good practices for product governance arrangements" which have found rapid response on the Italian market through the CONSOB communication of last December, relating to the placement of complex products with retail savers. Theme, among other things, the subject of debate in these days.
There was then a final intervention by the European Financial Market Supervisory Authority on 24 March, when a public consultation was launched on the document "Draft guidelines on complex debt instruments and structured deposits" to provide indications on the type of financial instruments and structured deposits that can be distributed to investors. It is now natural to ask whether the efforts that the Supervisory Authorities are making in designing increasingly stringent rules are sufficient to guarantee protection against potential opaque and complex investments.
The financial crisis has undoubtedly revealed structural weaknesses in the financial system. Among these there are also some areas that require a review of the regulatory system which increasingly needs to adapt to a constantly evolving and increasingly complex market. However we must underline how formal interventions cannot be disconnected from the cultural context in which one is immersed.
Last July, the OECD published the PISA survey aimed at assessing the level of financial literacy (defined as "the knowledge and understanding of financial concepts and risks combined with the skills, motivation and self-confidence to use this knowledge and understanding in order to make effective decisions in a variety of financial contexts, to improve the financial well-being of individuals and society, and to enable participation in economic life") in some countries. It emerged that Italy is in the last places in the company of other countries of the European Union.
The sudden changes in the financial markets that have taken place over the last twenty years have not gone hand in hand with the development and diffusion of a financial culture on the part of citizens. In Italy, as in other countries, financial choices are made without having full awareness and understanding, it continues to struggle to understand the differences between the various financial instruments offered, the costs associated with their use as well as the underlying risks.
If it is true that the review process of the regulatory system has just begun and that it is still early to be able to express its validity and to be able to verify whether the benefits will be those that the Supervisory Authorities expect, we can, however, state with certainty that rules alone are not enough and that the growth of a widespread and strong financial culture will be fundamental for the development of our country.
