apply its existing requirements to credit servicers

Issuing completely new Guidelines on complaints-handling of credit servicers could have the benefit to bring tailored requirements related to credit servicers specificities. Nevertheless, this tailoring would lead to distortion of requirements between those new Guidelines and the existing JC Guidelines that is uniformly applicable for many years to financial institutions across the banking, investment and insurance sectors. Moreover, for the Competent Authorities – supervising for most of them both credit servicers and firms – , this distortion would create additional costs as a specific complaints-handling supervision processes should be developed for credit servicers. Applying the JC Guidelines to credit servicers, by setting through the amending Guidelines the same requirements related to the credit servicers than the ones related to the firms mentioned in the JC Guidelines, would have the benefit of having more certainty on the relevance and efficiency of these requirements. Indeed, in 2021, the Joint Committee of the three European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA – ESAs) published a Report on the application of the JC Guidelines¹⁰ and this report concluded that the JC Guidelines have contributed to a consistent approach to complaints-handling across the banking, insurance and securities sectors and have resulted in better outcomes for consumers. Finally, most importantly, applying the existing JC Guidelines would harmonise the whole complaints-handling framework for the entire financial sector.

On these grounds, the Option 1b has been chosen as the preferred option and EBA will issue new Guidelines (the ‘ amending Guidelines ’), proposing to amend the JC Guidelines on complaints handling to apply its existing requirements to credit servicers. It has to be said that the costs, triggered by the amending Guidelines, for credit servicers (mainly costs of implementation of processes) and for Competent Authorities (mainly costs of supervision of credit servicers complaints- handlings’ processes) are not de emed to be material as the main costs are largely absorbed by the cost associated with the compliance with the Directive (EU) 2021/2167.

3.1.5 Conclusion

The development of Guidelines amending the Joint Committee Guidelines on complaints-handling for the securities (ESMA) and banking (EBA) sectors was deemed necessary to give guidance on the establishment and maintenance, by credit servicers, of effective and transparent procedures for the handling of complaints from borrowers. The benefits will be for both credit servicers and their Competent Authorities to have a common framework for complaints-handling and thus an harmonis ation of credit servicers’ sectors practices in the Union. The costs associated with these amending Guidelines are not deemed to be material as the main costs are largely absorbed by the cost associated with the compliance with the Directive (EU) 2021/2167. As such, costs will be exceeded by the aforementioned benefits. These amending Guidelines hence should achieve, with acceptable costs, their objectives.

¹⁰ JC 2021 24 Report on complaints-handling.pdf (europa.eu)

1. Ülevaade

1.1 Viited

1.2 Tuvastatud nõuded

1.3 Seotud standardid

2. Tuvastatud nõuded

3. Seotud standardid

• EBA - Published by the European Banking Authority at https://www.eba.europa.eu/