Consumer complaints and complaints about banksas well as other financial industry companies in Germany, rose by a fifth last year, official data show. And the competent regulators are doing everything possible to build confidence in the industry. OUR BaFinfinancial watchdog of the country, showed even greater attention to the protection consumers and consumers, especially after the big accounting scandal associated with its collapse. wirecardcompany electronic payments. The supervisor received 15,000 complaints against banks and other financial service providers in 2022, up from 12,500 in 2021 – however protests And complaints in Germany, the quality of banking services has improved dramatically over the past four years.

Among the problems reported by consumers are delays in the process of closing accounts, changes in the conditions for the provision of services, as well as a reduction in the number of branches in banking networks, according to officials, heads of credit organizations, but also consumer protection organizations. The figures, first published by the Reuters news agency, will be made public in the annual report in May. “Financial institutions can’t do well because they treat their customers badly,” Chang-Yae Wu, BaFin’s chief executive, said in an interview. OUR Deutsche Kreditwirtschaftthe umbrella organization whose role is to put institutional pressure on German financial groups said the banks are “very stable and strong” and confidence remains “high” and “unaffected” by the recent turmoil caused by the collapse of the groups in the US and Switzerland.

But despite the claims, a 2022 YouGov study found that the degree of confidence in the German financial sector needed to ensure broader financial stability and raise capital to support economic growth was below the global average, lagging behind Canada, Australia and the largest economies in the Southeast. East Asia. markets. As Niels Nauhäuser, a consumer advocate in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, points out, “The very fact that consumers are asking us more and more and asking for our advice is proof enough that they do not fully trust financial institutions.”