Written question – Protecting retail investors against predatory investment firms selling misleading financial products offering poor value for money – E-002287/2025

Question for written answer  E-002287/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Bas Eickhout (Verts/ALE)

In 2006, a major financial scandal came to light in the Netherlands. Millions of retail investors had put their savings into investment-linked insurance plans that came with such high hidden costs that they could only make tiny returns. These products are currently banned in the Netherlands.

Now, nearly twenty years later, the Dutch NN Group is selling similar financial products to Belgian and Greek retail investors[1]. Again, these products include many different kinds of hidden fees and management costs, sometimes amounting to as much as 7 % per year.

• 1.What tools are currently available to national and European supervisors to address these misleading retail financial products offering such blatantly poor value for money on the market?
• 2.Interinstitutional negotiations on the EU’s retail investment strategy are currently ongoing. Is the Commission confident that the outcome will effectively end the selling of these products with high hidden costs or, if not, what additional actions does the Commission propose?
• 3.The Commission will adopt measures to create a European blueprint for savings and investment accounts, including a recommendation on the tax treatment of these accounts. How will the Commission prevent the Member States from wasting tax incentives on retail investment products that charge high fees with low value for money?

Supporter[2]

Submitted: 5.6.2025

• [1] Follow the Money, ‘Disgraced Dutch investment firm uses tainted tactics to target new European clients’, 27 May 2025.
• [2] This question is supported by a Member other than the author: Vladimir Prebilič (Verts/ALE)