French minister calls for better protection for financial consumers

French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde on Tuesday called on G20 members to learn from the latest global financial crisis, and take measures to protect consumers of financial products.


At a working meeting with representatives from financial sectors, the minister blamed the reinless loans granted by U.S. financial institutions for the destructive global financial crisis, stressing a lesson should be learned.


France expected G20 members to identify common principles in making economic policies and regulating financial market with respect of better protection for financial product consumers, Lagarde said.


She said France wanted the consumer protection topic to be a pivotal mission of the French presidency of the G20 and will propose this idea to her counterparts and concerned delegates due to attend the G20 Finance Meeting on February 18-19 in Paris.


With the coordination of the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, French Economy, Finance and Industry Ministry will hold a high-profile meeting on the protection of financial product consumers in October, which expects to gather G20 financial ministers for further discussion, according to Lagarde.
(Source:http://news.xinhuanet.com)