Result

2023

Consumer Protection Report 2023

The risks given the highest priority in FI’s consumer protection work for 2023 are unaffordable lending, unsuitable investment products and investment fraud.

Open finance in Sweden

2023-06-28 | Fintech Reports News

Digitalisation introduces both opportunities and risks to the financial market. After conducting a new survey, FI has noted that broader regulation on how customer data can be shared with third-party providers could make it easier for consumers to compare financial products such as occupational pensions and mortgages.

2022

Increased cyber security in the finance sector is needed

2022-05-16 | News Stability Consumer

The financial sector must quickly become better at preventing and handling cyber threats. Customers and society at large must be able to trust that the critical services offered by financial corporations will function even during periods of uncertainty and in the presence of threats. As commissioned by the government, Finansinspektionen (FI) therefore has proposed a number of measures to increase resilience to cyber attacks in the financial sector.

Consumer Protection Report 2022

2022-04-28 | Reports Consumer Markets

Unsound lending practices and commission from the sale of financial instruments are the highest prioritised risks in Finansinspektionen’s (FI) consumer protection assignment for 2022.

Are banks refusing to open payment accounts for too many customers?

2022-04-28 | News Consumer Markets

Are banks correct in refusing to open accounts for certain consumers? And what role do credit intermediaries play in many consumers taking large unsecured loans? These are two of the issues that Finansinspektionen (FI) will look more closely at in 2022 and that we present in this year's Consumer Protection Report.

2021

Erik Thedéen: Crypto-assets today and in the future

” Ultimately, this is about energy efficiency. Energy is a scarce resource, and as a society, we have invested heavily in energy-efficiency improvements across all sectors. We need to consider a similar technology shift for crypto-assets.”

Erik Thedéen: Crypto-assets – risks and opportunities

“The technology behind crypto-assets has the potential to create value for society, but crypto-assets like Bitcoin also pose significant risks,” said Erik Thedéen, when he spoke about the development of crypto-assets today at a seminar arranged by the Swedish Investor Relations Association.

Sustainability Report 2021 – the climate in focus

Finansinspektionen has an assignment to promote the financial system’s contribution to sustainable development. The sustainability report outlines the current sustainability issues that are related to the financial sector and lists examples of what FI is working on in this area.

Young adults and low-income earners face greatest risk of debt trap

2021-02-24 | News Consumer Markets

Young borrowers and borrowers with low income run a higher risk of experiencing payment problems when they take non-mortgage loans, even if they only borrow small amounts. At the same time, the risk that consumers will get trapped in debt decreases if credit providers conduct thorough credit assessments. These are the conclusions of a new analysis from Finansinspektionen that is presented in conjunction with this year’s consumer protection report.

Consumer Protection Report 2021

2021-02-24 | Reports Consumer Markets

Paying by invoice or with other credit-based offers is becoming an integral part of shopping online. Young adults are unique with their small margins and large number of payment reminders and collection notices. Unaffordable loans are a prioritised consumer risk in this year’s report.

FI’s prioritised areas for 2021

Are the banks conducting thorough credit assessments when customers apply for consumer credit? Are smaller banks and payment service firms taking sufficient measures to prevent money laundering? What risks will the coronavirus pandemic pose in the future? These are three areas that Finansinspektionen (FI) will look more closely at in 2021.

Finansinspektionen’s prioritised areas for 2021

Consumer protection, money laundering and risks that the coronavirus pandemic may pose in the future are three areas that FI will look more closely at in 2021.

Terrorist financing

Activities that constitute “terrorist financing” are described in the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Prevention) Act (the Anti-Money Laundering Act).

2020

Erik Thedéen: How can consumer welfare be improved in financial markets?

FI's Director General Erik Thedéen took part in a panel discussion during the conference "Consumer Behavior in Financial Markets", arranged by the Swedish House of Finance at the Stockholm School of Economics today.

Erik Thedéen: FinTech and cyber threats – what impact do they have on financial stability?

The rate at which household debt is increasing has slowed the past three years. The two amortisation requirements that FI introduced contributed to this change. But the low interest rates entail risks. The debt of commercial real estate companies has been increasing sharply, and the banks have large exposures to the sector. FI decided today to raise the capital requirements for bank loans for commercial real estate. Erik Thedéen also noted that cyber threats are a challenge facing society as a whole, and cooperation is needed on a broad front.

Consumer Protection Report 2020

2020-02-14 | Reports Consumer Markets

Finansinspektionen (FI) will prioritise two consumer protection risks for further work in 2020: unaffordable lending and unsuitable advice and distribution of financial products to consumers who were not part of the product’s original intended target market. FI will also assess the adequacy of claims handling for home insurance.

Increased transparency on carbon pricing can strengthen the financial system

FI will explore the possibility of advocating both nationally and internationally increased disclosure of firms’ internal carbon pricing.

2019

Stability in the Financial System (2019:2)

The low interest rates are expected to remain low for a longer period of time. It could lead to greater risk-taking among various actors, and increased challenges for insurance undertakings.

Stability in the Financial System (2019:1)

Both the global and the Swedish economies appear to be slowing down. Low interest rates – which have resulted in high risk-taking and rising asset prices – are expected to remain low for a prolonged period of time. Resilience in the Swedish financial system is satisfactory in general. However, even if the banks’ resilience is satisfactory overall, FI makes the assessment that they need more capital to cover the risks in their lending to commercial real estate firms.

Consumer Protection Report 2019

2019-04-03 | Reports Consumer Markets

In this report, Finansinspektionen (FI) presents the most prioritised consumer risks it has identified for 2019. FI also presents the experiences from its consumer protection work over the past year. Finally, FI identifies two areas on the financial market where consumer protection is clearly deficient and proposes regulatory changes to fill these gaps.