News

On 10 June 2010, UNI Finance, the global trade union for the finance sector, representing 3 million employees in the banking and insurance industries, have agreed on a charter that will secure more transparent and more responsible sales of financial products.



One of the key lessons learned from the global financial crisis has been, how dangerous a cocktail it is, when you combine lack of transparency in financial products, customers’ lack of awareness of risk associated with the financial products and aggressive performance-measures on sale put on the employees in the financial companies.



Nevertheless, sales pressure on employees and complexity of products seems to have rather increased than decreased in the post-crisis period in many companies around the world - making irresponsible sales of financial products still a key issue. The necessity and need of the charter should be regarded in this perspective.



The elements of the charter aim at creating an environment and operating procedures within companies that supports transparent and responsible selling of financial products. Taking into account that financial regulation and practices vary considerably around the world, the charter provides a detailed framework of relevant issues to be addressed and adapted in the specific context of a financial company in dialogue between management and employees.



The most central elements are:

• Incentive systems for employees should be realistic, fair, transparent and based on long-terms and sustainable business goals
• Good customer services and qualified advice should be rewarded and incorporated in incentive structures
• Conflicts of interests, roles and responsibilities of employees should always be clear in sales situations
• Internal structures allowing employees to report inappropriate practices to an independent ombudsman (whistle-blowing) should be established
• Structures for continuous dialogue on the responsible sale of products between the company, its employees and trade union representatives should be installed

President of UNI Finance, Edgardo Iozia states:

• It is with both pride and excitement that we launch this global charter today. It is the fruit of long and thorough discussions among unions around the world, who are committed to improve the trustworthiness of the finance sector, who has suffered great damage due to the financial crisis.
  
  We believe that the charter represent a milestone and a strong point of departure for the financial sector in order to rebuild its image as customer-oriented, serious and responsible for the benefit of society.
  
  
• To the greatest possible extent, it is our goal that unhealthy sales and performance pressure on employees coupled with short-term focus on profits irrespective of a customer’s interests will be brought to an end.

• In the coming months we foresee very important and constructive discussions with financial companies around the world. We are confident that this charter is going to make real progress in creating more transparent and more customer- and long-term oriented sales practices in the finance sector.
  
  

For a profound report on the Forum, see Related files.

The charter is available in 'related articles' in English, French, German and Spanish