Broad impact
The joint committtee believes that automation of financial advice is not yet very widespread across the European Union though they noted that human contact is being increasingly supported by the use of various automated tools.
“These include comparison websites that can compare products offered by various financial institutions, and websites providing information on specific products and helping consumers to select between products by using simulators and calculators.
“The use of such tools has been observed in relation to products such as mortgages, personal loans, bank accounts and bank deposits.
“These tools may allow consumers to finalise a purchase, conclude a contract, or act as intermediaries which, after giving recommendation, help the consumer to get in touch with the financial institution offering the given products or services.”
The ESAs expect that automation in financial advice will continue to grow in the near future, including a proliferation of more sophisticated tools and an increasing integration of different data sources. However, their use may not be equally widespread in all European markets.
The ESAs are looking for comment on the area and have set a closing date for responses of 4 March 2016.
