Clarifications on CSSF Regulation N°16-07 on out-of-court complaint resolution in the financial sector

On 13 October 2017 the Luxembourg Financial Regulator (Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier – CSSF) issued Circular 17/671 that clarifies the rules applicable to customer complaints in the financial sector as provided by CSSF Regulation 16-07 on out-of-court complaint resolution ( please view our previous legal alert on this regulation).

Circular 17/671 (French only) entered into force on 13 October 2017 and repealed on the same date CSSF Circular 14/589 (French and English) on the details of out-of-court resolution of customer complaints.

Circular 17/671 clarifies the procedure to be followed and the information to be provided by the person in charge of a financial institution's customer complaints, if a complaint cannot be treated favourably.

Most important, Circular 17/671 provides additional information on the mandatory content of the annual statistics and the annual synthetic report to be submitted to the CSSF. It particularly:

  • Clarifies that it is not necessary to report complaints that do not relate to a product or a financial service.
  • Stipulates that the synthetic report shall provide information on the measures taken to handle complaints.
  • States that the statistics and the synthetic report shall also include the complaints received by subsidiaries and branches outside of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

Action points

If you are a professional that is affected by Circular 17/671, you should review your policies and procedures to ensure that they meet the imposed requirements. Our team can assist you, if you need more information on this new circular.

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