During 2023, the Arbitrator for financial disputes received 963 appeals, with a gradual decline that can be explained by the transformation into a “physiological” means of resolving disputes that may arise between financial intermediaries and their customers. Thus, the number of appeals went from 1,839 in 2017 to 963 in 2023.
The arbiter for financial disputes
“The Arbitrator for Financial Disputes (ACF), established by Consob in 2016, is a tool for resolving disputes between retail investors and intermediaries – says Gabriele Urzì national director of Fabi and health and safety manager of Fabi Palermo – which savers can use for claims for compensation of damages not exceeding 500,000 euros. Intermediaries are obliged to join the ACF which ensures impartiality and independence of judgment and the appeal does not preclude the possibility of turning to the judicial authorities”.
The analysis of Fabi in Sicily: the data from the report on the activity carried out in 2023 by the ACF
“It is interesting to examine the territorial distribution of the appeals which sees the North as the area of origin of the greatest number of appeals (46.1%), followed by South (31.3%) and from the Center (20.4%) of the country. Sicily is in seventh place with 71 appeals representing 7.4% of the total.
At the provincial level we find ourselves in ninth place Agrigento with 21 cases (29.6% of the total), eighteenth Ragusa (14 cases – 19.7%), Palermo to the twenty-first (11 cases – 15.5%) and to the twenty-third Catania (10 cases – 14.1%). In 2023, the appeals received were submitted by natural persons in 98% of cases compared to 2% by legal entities.
As regards the age of the appellants, the maximum concentration is found in the three age groups between 45 and 74 years (45-54, 55-64, 65-74) which represent, overall, 68.4% of the total, with a prevalence of claimants aged between 55 and 64 (26.1%). The minimum amount requested was 1.97 euros, while the maximum amount was 500,000 euros, corresponding to the value limit within which the ACF is competent. The intermediaries involved in the proceedings initiated before the ACF during 2023 were 86, mainly banks (67). The Board held 46 meetings in 2023 and adopted 879 decisions, of which 56.8% accepted appeals (499) and 43.2% rejected (380).”
Customer protection
“The valorisation of private savings is now increasingly strategic. Fundamental to this end is trust, functional and virtuous, centered on healthy relationships. This is achieved with the rules to protect banking and financial customers, with control over compliance with the provisions on the behavior of intermediaries, with individual protection tools and with the strengthening of the economic and financial culture of the population. The ACF’s activity fits into this framework and contributes to preserving and strengthening savers’ trust in the markets and in those who professionally work in them – concludes Urzì”.
Source: 2023 activity report of the Arbitrator for Financial Disputes (ACF).
