06/2020 - Current 

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) project:   Supporting the Central Bank of Uzbekistan in developing and implementing financial education initiatives as part of its National Strategy for Financial Inclusion

 

2018-2019 

The World Bank and Ministry of Finance of Russia

Project: Strengthening consumer protection in financial services

Project:  Developing recommendations for Consumer Codex in the Russian Federation based on the best practices of France, Belgium and Brazil.

 

2018-2019

Strengthening capacity of Rospotrebnadzor specialists in Russian Federation; reviewing best practices in consumer protection and financial services users. Organising and leading study visits for Rospotrebnadzor specialists from Russia to India and South Africa.

 

2013-2014
Developing responsible financial markets and the Financial Ombudsman Consumer Protection Service: UK experience and Rospotrebnadzor practices.

Project Summary
The main objective of the project is to build capacity of federal and regional authorities in Russia and to implement Financial Ombudsman Service using the best practice from UK.

The Project will contribute to creation of the Financial Ombudsman Service in Russia that will simplify the dispute resolution between customers and financial organizations.  First of all the project is contributing to proper development of legislative basis, which is now passing very important public hearing and consultation process. Secondly, the Project will help in setting up the organizational framework and operational scheme for Financial Ombudsman Service in Russia, which will be created in the 7 Federal Districts. The Project will contribute to better integration of Russia in the international ombudsmen networks and cooperation for responsible financial market development.

In the long-term perspective implementation of the Financial Ombudsman Service in Russia will also lead to strengthening the customers protection system in Russia, improving the financial literacy and developing of the financial market, settling disputes between consumers and businesses that are providing financial services   such as banks, insurance companies, investment firms, financial advisers. The project will also have long term impact on empowering and protecting consumer

2012-2013
Strengthening the capacity of Rospotrebnadzor's specialists in the area of financial services and financial consumer protection in Russia.

Project Summary
The project: strengthening consumer protection in financial services by strengthening capacity for financial consumer protection in the Consumer Protection Service, industry professional associations, and civil society is supported by the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation and the World Bank under the Financial Education and Financial Literacy Programme (FEFL) - Component 4: Strengthening of consumer protection in financial services.

The key objective of the Project is to establish the frameworks for the system of qualification upgrading and retraining of Rospotrebnadzor specialists to ensure effective implementation of financial consumer protection function through conducting urgent training of employees currently responsible for financial consumer protection. Rospotrebnadzor is the Federal Service for Control of Consumers Protection in Russia.

The specific objectives of the Project include:

• Development of methodological materials and teaching aids for urgent training of Rospotrebnadzor specialists in the area of financial consumer protection; development of training structure.
• Conducting urgent full-time training of pilot groups of Rospotrebnadzor specialists in the fundamentals of financial literacy, qualification upgrading in the area of legal regulation of financial sector, study of the international experience in financial consumer protection.
• Preparation of analytical materials upon training completion along with the summary of practical experience to be further used for dissemination of successful experience among Rospotrebnadzor advisory centers, and for creating the plans for future trainings of Rospotrebnadzor specialists within the bounds of the FEFL Project;
• Development of recommendations for the establishment of internal training system for Rospotrebnadzor specialists (including the system of qualification upgrading and assessment of the level of employees’ expertise in the area of financial consumer protection).
• Study of the best international experience in financial consumer protection is in the core of the Project activities and include study tours to 4 countries: Great Britain, Poland, Belgium, and Brazil.

In each country study program includes visits and meetings with experts of the following reputable and best-practiced institutions of financial consumer protection:

• government regulating and supervisory services dealing specifically with financial consumer rights and financial services for consumers (preferably at federal and at regional / local levels);
• non-government consumer organizations and / or other civil society institutions oriented at protecting financial consumer rights and promoting financial literacy;
• out-of-court dispute resolution bodies for consumers whose rights are violated by financial institutions (financial ombudsman and / or other mediation institutions).

 

2007
Responsible Lending Standards and borrowing in Sweden.

Project Summary
The study on the project focused on findings: how opinion leaders define responsible lending and what they think about the responsible lending principles and standards used by our client products (credit cards, mortgages, personal loans, insurance and store cards) so that the client can then amend and improve those standards - not a marketing exercise. Views of experts from the field were attributed internally for the client report.

Discussion topics:

• About responsible lending in general - in Scandinavian countries, best practices, good & bad examples etc.
• Where responsibility lies in terms of responsible lending (consumer? credit provider? etc) and how it should be regulated/governed (self-regulation? legislation?)
• Reaction to our client's definition of responsible lending and the standards themselves - what is good, what is missing etc. The standards cover different areas of the relationship a credit provider has with its customers, namely: Product development, Marketing, Sales, Underwriting (Risk assessment), Customer service, Debt collection, Training & communication.