On the 13^th June 2014, the European Markets and Securities Authority (ESMA) together with the European Banking Authority (EBA) published their Joint Committee final Report on guidelines for handling consumer complaints in the securities and banking sectors.

To the benefit of consumers and firms alike, and with a view to bolstering market confidence, the said guidelines aim to ensure a harmonised approach to handling complaints for all EU Member States and across all financial services sectors.

From a practical perspective, these guidelines provide a single point of reference for consumers purchasing financial services and products in the investment, banking and insurance sectors across the entire EU Single Market, thereby allowing them to refer to a single set of complaints-handling arrangements.

Moreover, firms which sell products from more than one sector across the EU will be able to streamline and standardise their own complaints-handling arrangements.

The Joint Committee’s final Report is available on ESMA’s official website.