“If it takes an hour to sign up for a 100,000 won fund, who will sign up”… Chaos Bank Counter

“Dear customer, since it is the first day of the Financial Consumer Protection Act, I honestly do not know how the right to withdraw subscription is applied to this fund product.” (A bank employee in Jung-gu, Seoul)

On the 25th, the first day of the Financial Consumer Protection Act, most of the financial sector, including banks, insurance companies, and credit card companies, were in great confusion. There was a constant flurry between employees who did not know the details of the prohibition law and customers who were new to it. This is because the process required to sign up for the product was complicated, and it took at least two to three times more time. It is pointed out that financial authorities and financial companies are insufficiently prepared prior to the implementation of the new system, which only aggravates market turmoil.

On that day, when Maeil Economic Daily tried to get a consultation to join the fund at the branch of A bank in Jung-gu, Seoul, the counter staff cautioned in advance that “if you want to invest in a stock-type fund, you should not have a low risk tendency.” This is because if the risk appetite is judged to be low according to the conformity principle among the six sales principles of the gold law law, it is impossible to subscribe to high-risk products. In the past, if it was confirmed that the fund had a higher risk than the investment propensity through the `nonconformity confirmation`, it was possible to sign up, but in the future, you will have to visit the bank again the next day to get a new evaluation.

It took more than an hour to join the fund, which took only 15 minutes a month ago. Only after answering detailed questions from basic questions about the level of investment knowledge to the size of total assets and average trading frequency of investments, the’investment risk level 2’was judged. It took a long time for the bank staff to read the product characteristics, investment cost, and investment risk individually for the product they wanted to sign up for. The counseling staff repeatedly said, “I’m sorry”, saying, “The enforcement of the prohibition law made it possible to explain the product, which lengthened the consultation time.”

It was also seen that the bank employee was not properly familiar with the regulations of the prohibition law. When a reporter asked, “Is it possible to withdraw the subscription within 7 days of joining the fund,” he replied, “If the bank provides incorrect information or does not fulfill the obligation to explain, it is possible to withdraw.”

It is a confusion between the’right to withdraw subscription’ and the’right to terminate illegal contracts’ as prescribed by the Law on Prohibition. According to the Gold Law, it is possible to withdraw an investment product subscription according to the will of the consumer without negligence of the seller. Consumers’ discomfort increases due to the prolonged product subscription process. A customer who was receiving fund counseling at the branch of Bank B in Gangnam, Seoul complained, “If I need to receive counseling for more than an hour to sign up for a 100,000 won fund, who will join it?”

The situation was not very different for the insurance company. When Maeil Economic Daily called a domestic non-life insurance company to sign up for dental insurance, a counselor said, “The law of law is enforced starting today, strengthening the recording process and increasing the amount of information to explain, which can lengthen the consultation time.”

When asked if it was possible to withdraw the subscription within 15 days, the employee replied, “There is no big difference as insurance companies allow withdrawal of subscription within 30 days even before the enforcement of the law enforcement regulations.” In the case of issuing a credit card, the procedure for issuing at a bank window was similar to the previous one, but the procedure for online registration became cumbersome.

The financial industry complains that the financial firm’s employees and customers are experiencing confusion in the field due to the enforcement of the law on financial affairs with insufficient time to prepare. It was on the 17th that the enforcement decree and supervisory regulation of the law enforcement regulations were finalized and promulgated on the 17th, 8 days before the enforcement date of the law. Financial companies have prepared by asking each question to the financial authorities without specific guidelines.

The financial authorities enforced the gold law from this day to block incomplete sales of financial companies. In the future, when financial companies sell products to customers, they must comply with six sales regulations (the principle of conformity and adequacy, obligation to explain, unfair behavior, unfair solicitation, and prohibition of exaggerated advertising). If a financial company engages in exaggerated advertisements, unfair solicitation, unfair acts, or does not properly obey the obligation to explain, it will be subject to a punitive penalty up to 50% of the sales. When consumers claim damages from a financial company, they must prove that the financial company has not been willful or negligent.

[김혜순 기자 / 김유신 기자 / 한상헌 기자]
[ⓒ 매일경제 & mk.co.kr, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]