On November 6, the Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) issued a consultation paper by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and the European Banking Authority (EBA) concerning draft guidance for the handling of complaints in the securities and banking industries. This guidance aims to:

• clarify expectations on firms’ procedures for complaints handling;
• give guidance on the provision of information to complainants and the procedures for answering complaints;
• harmonize the complaint handling arrangements of firms in order to help protect consumers; and
• set a minimum level of supervision for firms’ complaint handling arrangements on an EU-wide basis.

The guidance applies to investment firms, UCITS management companies and UCITS investment companies that have not designated a management company, AIFMs providing MiFID services, credit institutions and e-money institutions.

The deadline for responses to the consultation is February 7, 2014, with the final report scheduled to be published in the first quarter of 2014.  Consultation Paper.