Corporate Responsibility

 

Consumer Confidence



What's the issue?
Consumer confidence in savings has been affected by a range of issues including poorly performing equity markets, complexity in the financial services environment and the mis-selling of some products in the UK. This loss of confidence comes at a time when consumers are being expected to take increasing responsibility for their own financial provision.

Why is this a concern?
Without concerted action there is a danger of an increasing savings gap. The savings gap is the difference between the amount currently being saved and the amount that needs to be saved to secure an acceptable retirement income.

Research for the ABI showed that Britain faces a savings gap of around £27bn per year ( The Future Regulation of UK Savings and Investment. Research by Oliver, Wyman & Co, commissioned by ABI, September 2001 ). The Government has estimated that around 3 million people who could save are not saving at all, and that 10 million people are not saving enough (ABI Annual Report).

The challenge in a nutshell?
A key step in rebuilding confidence is to provide our customers with a range of products that meet their needs and which generate good returns. This, together with responsible marketing, high quality customer service and the clearing away of jargon, helps ensure a sustainable business built on trust. We are also working with governments, consumer groups and others to identify ways of simplifying the savings environment and to provide financial education at a number of levels.

 
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