By Andrea Hargraves 
Non-professional investors can now access a new alternative dispute resolution mechanism. CMVM has joined forces with financial institutions to offer an alternative to the courts to resolve disputes of up to €15,000.
The Securities Market Commission announced this week that individual investors now have access to a dispute resolution mechanism with financial intermediaries. The authority says: “The solution represents an alternative to resorting to legal means.”
By subscribing to the Protocol, participating financial intermediaries are obligated to accept requests for mediation and arbitration of disputes submitted by non-professional clients relating to matters within the scope of financial mediation up to a maximum of €15,000, the CMVM reveals.
In addition to resolving disputes out of court, through mediation, conciliation and arbitration, arbitration centers will also provide free information to investors.
All parties participating in signing the protocols committed to disclosing information related to the existence of the alternative dispute resolution mechanism and the details of the appeal.
In the area dedicated to the Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanism of the CMVM Investor Portal “you can consult the protocols and the full list of participating financial intermediaries and participating arbitration centres, as well as the list of frequently asked questions”, details the institution.
It is reported that on November 13, 2023, the CMVM signed two protocols – one with financial intermediaries and the other with consumer dispute arbitration centers – to establish a mechanism for resolving disputes between entities subject to the supervision of the market regulator and non-professional investors. This mechanism will come into effect only after these centers have access to the training content provided by the CMVM.
“In order to ensure adequate technical resources for the strict monitoring of dispute resolution processes involving non-professional investors, the CMVM, during the month of December 2023, provided materials and developed training courses for arbitration centres. Therefore, as planned and mentioned in the protocol signing session, this new mechanism became Available in arbitration centers since the beginning of January.
The CMVM guarantees that it will continue to provide specialized technical support to any consumer dispute arbitration centres, “with regard to the definition of the legal framework that applies, in theory, in matters of financial intermediation activities”.
The regulator explains that “in cases where the wishes of a consumer customer are not fully met in the form of a prior complaint submitted to the financial institution and the CMVM, they may submit a request for dispute resolution directly to the financial institution concerned. , a Consumer Dispute Arbitration Center or any other entity that provides Alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to which the financial intermediary is committed.”
Strengthening alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, given their importance in protecting non-professional investors, is part of the strategy set by the CMVM for the three-year period 2022-2024.