Margarita Delgado: Transparency in the banking sector Speech by Ms Margarita Delgado, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Spain, at the Banking Law Conference, organized by the Malaga Lawyers’ Association, 4 June 2021. * * * I should like to thank the Málaga Lawyers’ Association for their kind invitation to close this conference on banking transparency. I think this is the first time since March last year that I have set foot out of Madrid to attend an event. And I must admit that leaving my office for Málaga added allure to the invitation. The subject chosen for this conference is highly topical and relevant. Transparency is certainly needed for there to be effective competition between banks, and it is a central feature of the framework of conduct that should govern the relationship between banks and their customers. Clearly, too, banks’ massive dealings and business formalised through standard form contracts call for legal certainty to be ensured. Further, the necessary standardisation and speed of dealings must always be compatible with maintaining a high degree of protection for the end-customer, especially where individuals are concerned. Regulatory developments It may seem to us that transparency obligations go hand-in-hand with banking business. But the reality is that such obligations were introduced little more than three decades ago. Not so far back, a controlled system of fees and interest rates was in force. The 1946 Banking Act delegated the setting of bank charges to the Finance Ministry. This remained the case until charges were partially liberalised in 1981.
And it is founded on the belief that we can have a far greater impact by coming together, than we could acting alone. This is embodied in the National Strategy for Financial Literacy 2019 – 2023 which is a product of FEN. The National Strategy is centred around five Strategic Priorities that serve to anchor initiatives by FEN members to enhance the financial capability of Malaysians, thereby encouraging alignment and creating synergies. So what are these Strategic Priorities? First, nurturing values from young; Second, increasing access to financial management information, tools and resources; Third, inculcating positive behaviour among targeted groups, including the youth, selfemployed and those entering the workforce; Fourth, boosting long term financial and retirement planning; and Fifth, building and safeguarding wealth. Since the launch of the National Strategy in July 2019, FEN members and partners, working in collaboration with the government, business community and education sectors have undertaken over 400 education programmes and initiatives, covering a wide and diverse spectrum of the public that saw more than 47 million interactions with FEN’s various outreach programmes. A key achievement by FEN members working collaboratively has been the integration of financial education elements into all levels of the formal school curriculum, from pre-school right up to upper secondary levels. Financial education modules have also been introduced as electives in college programmes.