Consumer protection and financial innovation

Technical Standards, Guidelines & Recommendations

• Guidelines for complaints-handling for the securities (ESMA) and banking (EBA) sectors

  ESMA and the EBA are proposing to develop complaint handling guidelines for the investment and banking sectors that are identical to the existing EIOPA guidelines for the insurance sector. The objective is to provide EU consumers with a single set of complaints handling arrangements, irrespective of the type of product or service and of the geographical location of the firm in question. This will also allow firms to streamline and standardise their complaints handling arrangements and national regulators to supervise the same requirements across all sectors of financial services.

  Status: Final and translated into the EU official languages

• Guidelines on the conditions to be met to benefit from an exemption from contingency measures under Article 33(6) of Regulation (EU) 2018/389 (RTS on SCA & CSC)

  These Guidelines clarify a number of issues identified by market participants and competent authorities in relation to the four conditions to be met to benefit from an exemption from the fallback option envisaged under Article 33(6) of Regulation (EU) 2018/389 (RTS) on strong customer authentication and common and secure communication (SCA and CSC).

  Status: Under development

• Guidelines on the criteria on how to stipulate the minimum monetary amount of the professional indemnity insurance under PSD2

  These Guidelines define the criteria Competent Authorities should consider when stipulating the minimum monetary amount of the professional indemnity insurance (PII) or comparable guarantee for payment initiation and account information service providers under the revised Payment Service Directive (PSD2)

  Status: Final and translated into the EU official languages

• Regulatory Technical Standards on central contact points under PSD2

  These draft RTS specify the criteria for determining when the appointment of a central contact point under the PSD2 is appropriate and the functions that these contact points should have.

  Status: Final draft adopted by the EBA and submitted to the European Commission

• Guidelines on procedures for complaints of alleged infringements of the PSD2

  These draft Guidelines are part of the EBA’s work to support the core objectives of the PSD2 of strengthening the integrated payments market across the European Union, ensuring a consistent application of the legislative framework and promoting transparency.

  Status: Final and translated into the EU official languages

• Technical Standards on standardised terminology and disclosure documents under the PAD

  These technical standards are aimed at enhancing the comparability of fees through standardised terminology and disclosure documents across the European Union. This will allow consumers to compare offers from different payment services providers and to make informed decisions on the payment account that best suits their needs.

  Status: Final draft adopted by the EBA and submitted to the European Commission

• Guidelines on product oversight and governance arrangements for retail banking products

  The mis-conduct of financial institutions can cause significant consumer detriment, undermine market confidence, threaten the integrity of the financial system, and incur large costs to wider society. In order to address some of these conduct risks, the EBA has developed detailed Guidelines on product oversight and governance arrangements for the retail banking products that fall into its consumer protection remit, which are: mortgages, personal loans, deposits, payment accounts, payment services, and electronic money. The Guidelines provide a framework for robust and responsible product design and distribution by manufacturers and distributors.

  Status: Final and translated into the EU official languages

• Guidelines on remuneration policies for sales staff

  The EBA has identified poor remuneration policies and practices as a key driver of miss-selling of retail banking products and services. These draft Guidelines on remuneration policies and practices are aimed at providing a framework for financial institutions to implement remuneration policies and practices that will improve links between incentives and the fair treatment of consumers, reduce the risk of mis-selling and resultant conduct costs for firms.

  Status: Final and translated into the EU official languages

• Regulatory Technical Standards on passporting under PSD2

  These Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) on the framework for cooperation and exchange of information between competent authorities for passporting will ensure that information about those payment institutions that carry out business in one or more EU Member States is exchanged consistently between the national authorities of the home and host Member States. They distinguish the notifications related to branch establishments, agent’s engagement and free provision of services.

  Status: Adopted and published in the Official Journal

• Regulatory Technical Standards on strong customer authentication and secure communication under PSD2

  The proposed Regulatory Technical Standards on strong customer authentication and secure communication are key to achieving the objective of the PSD2 of enhancing consumer protection, promoting innovation and improving the security of payment services across the European Union.

  Status: Final draft adopted by the EBA and submitted to the European Commission

• Guidelines on passport notifications for credit intermediaries

  Article 32 of the Mortgage Credit Directive (MCD) provides that passport notifications will need to be exchanged between national authorities competent for the registration and/or supervision of mortgage credit intermediaries across the EU Member States. The EBA Guidelines formalise the notification process between the national authorities in the home and host Member States. They will ensure that information on the provision of services and the establishment of branches, as well as on the transmission of notifications, the registrations, and the notifications of changes is shared consistently across the EU. The Guidelines also include template notification forms for exercising the freedom to provide services and freedom of establishment, as foreseen in Article 32 of the MCD. The Guidelines apply from 21 March 2016, the transposition date of the MCD.

  Status: Final and translated into the EU official languages

• Guidelines on arrears and foreclosure

  The Mortgage Credit Directive (MCD) provides in Article 28 that Member States shall adopt measures to encourage creditors to exercise reasonable forbearance with consumers in arrears before they initiate foreclosure proceedings . These Guidelines support the national implementation by Member States of the forthcoming MCD. They will ensure that consumers are protected consistently across the European Union when interacting with creditors. The Guidelines establish requirements for verifying consumers’ income, documenting and retaining information, identifying and preventing misrepresented information, assessing consumers’ ability to meet their obligations under the credit agreement, considering allowances for consumers’ committed and other non-discretionary expenditures, as well as allowances for potential future negative scenarios. The Guidelines apply from 21 March 2016, the transposition date of the MCD.

  Status: Final and translated into the EU official languages

• Guidelines on creditworthiness assessment

  The Mortgage Credit Directive (MCD) requires, in Articles 18 and 20(1), that creditors assess consumers’ creditworthiness before concluding credit agreements for immovable residential properties. These Guidelines support the national implementation by Member States of the forthcoming MCD. They will ensure that consumers are protected consistently across the European Union when interacting with creditors. The Guidelines establish requirements in terms of policies and procedures for the early detection and handling of payment difficulties including staff training, engagement with consumers, provision of information and assistance to consumers, resolution process and documentation of dealings with consumers and retention of records. The Guidelines apply from 21 March 2016, the transposition date of the MCD.

  Status: Final and translated into the EU official languages

• Guidelines on standardised fee terminology for payment accounts in the EU

  These Guidelines are the first step towards developing standardised terminology across the EU and are developed in accordance with the EU Payment Accounts Directive. They will guide Competent Authorities (CAs) in EU Member States in the development of provisional lists of the most representative payment accounts services that are subject to a fee. EU competent authorities at national level will now be required to establish a provisional list of the most representative services of a payment account that are subject to a fee and offered by at least one Payment Service Provider (PSP) in their own jurisdictions.

  Status: Final and translated into the EU official languages

• Guidelines for cross-selling practices

  MiFID II mandated European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), in cooperation with the European Banking Authority (EBA) and European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), to develop Guidelines for the assessment and the supervision of cross-selling practices. In order to take into account the cross-sectoral implications of this mandate, the three European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) published the draft Guidelines under the auspices of the Joint Committee, and did so by widening the scope such that they consistently cover cross-selling practices in all three sectors. Following the joint consultation, several concerns were raised as to the ESAs’ ability to address cross-selling in a way that is compatible with related provisions in other Level 1 legislation, such as the Mortgage Credit Directive and the Payment Accounts Directive. Therefore, the Joint Committee decided not to issue final joint Guidelines, and for ESMA instead to issue its ESMA-only Guidelines covering only the investment sector. In addition, the three ESAs sent a letter to the European Commission asking the co-legislator to address the differences in the existing legislation and to ensure that the ESAs can regulate cross-selling practices in a consistent way across the three sectors, for the benefit of consumers, financial institutions, and supervisory authorities.

• Regulatory Technical Standards on the content and presentation of the KIDs for PRIIPs

  The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) are mandated by the Regulation on Key Information Documents for Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products (PRIIPs Regulation) to develop draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) on the content and presentation of the KIDs for PRIIPs. The aim of the KIDs is to provide EU retail investors with consumer-friendly information about investment products with the ultimate aim of improving transparency in the investment market.

  Status: Final draft adopted by the EBA and submitted to the European Commission

• Guidelines on internet payments security

  The Guidelines on the security of internet payments are based on the recommendations of the European Forum on the Security of Retail Payments (SecuRe Pay), a voluntary cooperative initiative set up by the ECB and comprising relevant authorities from the European Economic Area (EEA) with the aim of facilitating understanding of issues related to the security of electronic retail payment services.

  Status: Final and translated into the EU official languages

• Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) on Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) for mortgage credit intermediaries

  The Regulatory Technical Standard (RTS) on the minimum monetary amount of the professional indemnity insurance or comparable guarantee for mortgage credit intermediaries refer to Article 29(2)(a) of the proposed Directive on credit agreements relating to immovable residential property (Mortgage Credit Directive - MCD). The MCD aims at addressing a series of issues that the European Commission (EC) had identified in mortgage markets across the European Union (EU), including the lack of requirements pertaining to the professionalism, registration and authorisation of mortgage credit intermediaries.

  Status: Adopted and published in the Official Journal