KATHMANDU, July 8: Financial and securities market experts and high-level officials from Asia Pacific region who were in Kathmandu last week have identified 10 major priorities for financial consumer protection and education.

Issuing a statement following the conclusion of the two-day 'Conference on Financial Consumer Protection and Education in Asia-Pacific' organized by the Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon) in collaboration with International Network on Financial Education (INFE) under the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Sebon said that the major outcomes of the sharing of experiences and expertise of the OECD and countries from Asia Pacific region and academia include a need for coherent and comprehensive policy package for elderly population to improve financial inclusion.Noting that financial digitization is bringing both good and bad effects on financial inclusion front, participants of the conference have also called for all stakeholders, including the government, financial institutions, users and NGOs, to make maximum efforts, and the vulnerable people should not be left behind for the financial inclusion process.

“Financial education should be taken into account in regulatory and administrative framework and considered as a tool to reduce the poverty and promote economic growth, confidence and stability,” read the statement.

“There is a need of value-based financial education in early age so need of incorporating financial education in school curriculum and financial education and consumer protection are contributing factors to the healthy development of the financial sector, and there needs to have balance between commercial interest and financial inclusion,” it added.

The conference that concluded on Thursday brought together over 125 high-level officials and experts including 36 international participants from a total of 14 countries and 20 international organizations.

The conference was inaugurated by Minister for Finance Yuba Raj Khatiwada. Addressing the conference, Finance Minister Khatiwada said that financial education was a must for achieving sustainable development goals. He also highlighted the initiatives taken by the government for the promotion of financial education and social security in the country.

Also speaking at the conference, Rewat Bahadur Karki, the Sebon's executive chairman, pointed out to the urgency in understanding the need of financial education and consumer protection, and employing adequate and effective tools to raise the level of financial education, awareness and customer protection.

Shigeto Hiki, Head of Special Projects and Outreach Unit at the OECD, said that the lessons learned from the conference could be used for future policy formulation in Asia and the Pacific region including Nepal to ensure that vulnerable people should not be left behind in the financial inclusion process.

 
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