Private Autonomy and Protection of the Weaker Party in Financial Consumer Contracts: an EU and International Law Perspective

The global financial crisis has demonstrated how vulnerable financial consumers can be, in particular those who hold a credit or mortgage contract. Although a decade has passed, the EU legislation seems limited in providing effective protection as financial markets still experience large mis-selling cases and growing individual debt. This article examines the multi-faceted consumer credit approach adopted by the EU regulator, and the concurrent role played by recent case law in reshaping consumer protection. The article argues that, if financial consumer law is to be both effective and growth-promoting, a careful balance is required between the principles of private autonomy and the protection of the weaker party. The analysis will provide suggestions as to how this objective can be achieved, proposing a new perspective on financial consumer protection that is influenced by recent international guidelines, fundamental rights developments and behavioural economics.