On Tuesday, Spain’s Council of Ministers approved for the second time the creation of an Office for the Protection of Financial Customers, a bill that was suspended by the previous legislature because the Senate did not approve it.
As Spanish Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo explained in a press conference following the Council, this is one of the most important projects at the start of the legislature and will now be sent to Parliament, where the government awaits its output. with broad support, as happened in the last legislature.
The office will combine the complaints services of the three existing supervisory authorities: the Bank of Spain, the National Securities Market Commission and the General Directorate of Insurance and Pension Funds, and will also allow clients to submit their complaints free of charge and receive a response within a maximum period of 90 days.
The Minister gave examples of several cases that could be the subject of a complaint, such as when an organization charges a client a fee that is not due for any service under the contract, or when a bill is returned without prior notice to the client, or when an insurance company refuses to pay compensation for an accident that should have been insured.
The creation of the Financial Customer Protection Authority “completes the framework for the protection and inclusion of financial customers following the adoption of financial inclusion protocols for older people and rural areas and the approval of Codes of Good Practice that have expanded preventive support.” for families,” the minister explained.
The new Authority aims to increase financial inclusion through personalized attention from both the Authority and financial institutions, especially for older people and vulnerable groups wishing to file complaints.
The text includes a set of entities that may be the subject of a complaint: regulated entities, “fintech” and “cryptoactive” services, and consumer or home lending services.
The document also defines the types of complaints that can be made, whether they have a financial content or not, and includes complaints about failure to comply with the obligation to provide all information when opening an account.
The decisions will be binding, meaning they will be binding on the financial institution if the amount claimed is less than €20,000.
The office will be funded by a fee paid by financial institutions, which varies depending on the number of complaints against each institution and the number of those resolved in favor of the client, the minister added, stressing that this is an incentive for institutions to improve the treatment of their clients.
Likewise, the right to access a basic debit account is strengthened, especially for vulnerable groups, thereby simplifying the procedures and necessary documentation.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.