The State Council General Office on Nov 13 issued a guideline to protect the rights of consumers who bought financial products and services, and regulate and guide the services of financial institutions.

The guideline asked financial administration departments, including the People’s Bank of China and China Banking Regulatory Commission, to strengthen cooperation with local governments and explore a mechanism to protect the rights of financial consumers.

According to the guideline, financial institutions should respect and guarantee their consumers’ basic rights such as right of property security, right to know, free choice and fair trade.

To be specific, financial institutions should not divert or convert their customers’ funds; they should accurately disclose information that may influence their strategic decision and point out risks; they should not misguide consumers to buy products or services against their will, or add unreasonable conditions; and they should strengthen management of third-party organizations and strictly avoid the disclosure of consumers’ information.

Administration departments should investigate and deal with behavior that violates consumers’ rights. A system for consumers to complain and administration departments to resolve these cases should be set up. Illegal financial activities should be severely punished to maintain an orderly financial market.