2024 Annual General Meeting

• Appointment of new FinCoNet Vice-Chair
• Appointment of six members of the FinCoNet Governing Council
• Adoption of FinCoNet’s Programme of Work for 2025/26, featuring workstreams on the following topics:
  • Oversight and supervision of debt collection, debt advice and debt management firms
  • Implications of open finance for market conduct supervisors and the use of AI by conduct supervisors o Fundamentals of market conduct supervision
  • Implementation and application of the G20/OECD High-Level Principles on Financial Consumer Protection by market conduct supervisors
• Approval of two reports by FinCoNet addressing key issues for financial market conduct supervisors:
  • Buy Now Pay Later: Risks for consumers and regulatory and supervisory approaches
  • Market conduct supervision in challenging times
• International Seminar on the theme of Quality financial products: what are the roles of product oversight and SupTech? 

On 27-28 November 2024, FinCoNet (the International Financial Consumer Protection Organisation) held its 2024 Annual General Meeting (AGM), hosted by the Superintendencia de Banca, Seguros y AFP, Peru (SBS Peru).

Representatives from nearly 50 financial market conduct supervisors from around the world, as well as international organisations, participated in the AGM in-person or virtually. The AGM was held backto-back with an International Seminar on Quality financial products: what are the roles of product oversight and SupTech? on 29 November 2024 co-organised by FinCoNet and SBS Peru.

In his welcome address to attendees, Mr. Sergio Espinosa, Superintendent of SBS Peru, said:

“At SBS, we value participating in international forums that address critical topics for financial systems, such as financial consumer protection and financial inclusion.

Historically, SBS has focused on prudential regulation and financial stability. However, in recent years, we have become increasingly aware of the significant role that financial 2 consumer protection and inclusion play in ensuring system stability, particularly in an emerging economy like ours, where there is still much work to be done.

SBS is undergoing organizational restructuring to address these priorities and adapt to new challenges.Forums like the AGM provide valuable opportunities to explore and adopt modern approaches to consumer protection, which, when combined with traditional frameworks, are essential for achieving financial stability."

The AGM was chaired by the Chair of FinCoNet, Ms. Juliana Sandri, Head of the Department of Conduct Supervision at the Banco Central do Brasil, who was elected as Chair in 2023. In her opening address to attendees to open the AGM, Ms. Sandri said:

“In this first year of my mandate as Chair, I had the opportunity to witness the growth of FinCoNet. We welcomed new members; have appointed a new Vice-Chair; developed webinar discussions around timely issues for Members; finished new deliverables; and evolved in important and relevant discussions to be included in the new biannual Program of Work. I feel very fortunate to be part of this organisation and to testify to the increase in importance and maturity of market conduct supervisors around the world.”

At the AGM, FinCoNet Members confirmed the appointment of Mr. Frank Lofranco of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada as the new Vice-Chair of FinCoNet. Upon confirmation of his appointment, Mr. Lofranco said:

“I am pleased to have been confirmed as Vice-Chair. FinCoNet’s role in promoting consumer protection and enabling robust market conduct supervision has proven to be meaningful and consequential, and I look forward to supporting the Chair and all FinCoNet members in continuing to have FinCoNet play a pivotal role in the financial consumer protection landscape.”

At the 2024 AGM, FinCoNet Members shared experiences and advanced work on issues of high importance to financial market conduct supervisors worldwide. During a stimulating roundtable discussion, FinCoNet Members exchanged views about the challenges they currently face and the solutions they are developing. Notably, FinCoNet Members shared experiences from their jurisdictions relating to the increase in digitalisation, financial scams and frauds, new oversight tools and supervising credit products.

FinCoNet also announced the reappointment of the following Members to the Governing Council: Mr. Nathan Bourne, Australian Securities and Investments Commission; Mr. Frank Lofranco, Financial Consumer Agency of Canada; Ms. Friderica Widyasari, Financial Services Authority, Indonesia; Mr. Wesley Murphy, Central Bank of Ireland; and Ms. Farzana Badat, Financial Sector Conduct Authority, South Africa. In addition, Mr. Alan Au of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority was confirmed to join the Governing Council for a three-year term.

FinCoNet Members also approved the Programme of Work for 2025/26, which will comprise the following workstreams to be carried out by four Standing Committees:

• Oversight and supervision of debt collection, debt advice and debt management firms 3
• Implications of open finance for market conduct supervisors and the use of AI by conduct supervisors
• Fundamentals of market conduct supervision, including organisational arrangements and coordination, supervisors’ roles in monitoring and handing complaints, and the use of data and indicators
• Implementation and application of the G20/OECD High-Level Principles on Financial Consumer Protection by market conduct supervisors

FinCoNet Members also approved two reports at the AGM, tackling current challenges for market conduct supervisors globally. The first report, prepared by Standing Committee 2 is titled: Buy Now Pay Later: Risks for consumers and regulatory and supervisory approaches. The second report, prepared by Standing Committee 6, is titled: Market conduct supervision in challenging times.

The AGM also featured an interactive workshop on the supervision of debt collection, which offered FinCoNet Members the chance to share experiences on how they are developing and implementing a supervisory framework for debt collection activities by creditors and/or third parties. This included discussions about the obligations of actors in debt collection, supervisory and enforcement tools, and whether Members are considering changes to current supervisory frameworks for debt collection.

FinCoNet also welcomed at the AGM five new Members who joined FinCoNet during 2024: the Croatian National Bank, the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Dominican Republic Superintendencia de Bancos, the Honduras Comisión Nacional de Bancos y Seguros and the Reserve Bank of India.

The AGM was followed by an International Seminar on Quality financial products: what are the roles of product oversight and SupTech? on 29 November 2024.

The Seminar brought together FinCoNet Members, guests and other external stakeholders to hear from experts in the field and join an engaging discussion on product oversight and SupTech as it pertains to quality financial products. During the opening ceremony, welcome remarks were delivered by Ms. Juliana Sandri, Chair of FinCoNet and Mr. Sergio Espinosa Chiroque, Superintendent of SBS, Peru. The Seminar featured presentations from speakers representing the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Banco Central do Brasil, Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Banco de España, the World Bank, Financial Sector Conduct Authority, South Africa, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Philippines, SBS Peru, and Banco de Portugal. Closing remarks to the International Seminar were delivered by Ms. Mariela Zaldivar, Deputy Superintendent of Market Conduct at SBS Peru and Mr. Frank Lofranco, Vice-Chair of FinCoNet.

The FinCoNet AGM 2025 will be held in November 2025 and hosted by the Central Bank of Ireland, followed by an international seminar. /ENDS

1. FinCoNet was formally established in 2013 as a new international organisation of financial consumer protection supervisory authorities. The goal of FinCoNet is to promote sound market conduct and enhance financial consumer protection through efficient and effective financial market conduct supervision, with a focus on banking and credit.
2. Members of FinCoNet are public entities that have a financial market conduct and financial consumer protection supervision mandate.
3. The OECD acts as the Secretariat of FinCoNet providing administrative, logistical and technical support.
4. For more information about the work of FinCoNet or becoming a Member, please visit www.finconet.org for more information or contact the Secretariat [katerina.kodlova@oecd.org].