Consob Arbitrator: fewer successful appeals but refunds reach 160 million

After years in which the Arbitrator's rulings upheld savers' claims for the most part (63% of cases on average), 2024 saw this figure fall to 49.7%. The average amount of refunds recognised also fell (9.4 million from 13.3 million the previous year). The numbers are contained in the report by the president of the ACF, Gianpaolo Eduardo Barbuzzi, on the activity carried out in 2024. The Arbitrator is the body set up at Consob for the out-of-court settlement of disputes between intermediaries and their clients, and with 2024 it concluded its eighth year of life, in which it decided on refunds in favour of financial intermediaries' clients amounting to one hundred and sixty-five million euros, in response to around 12,000 savers who chose to rely on this dispute resolution mechanism. This means awards at the rate of EUR 20.6 million on average per year. These are often claims of substantial economic significance, as last year for the first time the average value of savers' claims reached a record high of over EUR 70,000. This and the complexity of the issues involved mean that, despite the fact that appeals to the Arbitrator are fully free of charge, the percentage of those who prefer to be assisted by a lawyer is increasing in 2024 (to 68.2% from 60% in 2023). The rate of voluntary enforcement of ACF decisions by intermediaries remains very high (92.5%), given that ACF rulings are not binding. Also positive (+44.4%) is the increase in cases of early termination of proceedings following agreements between the parties (179 in 2024 against 124 in 2023).

The number of appeals remained stable (961), almost unchanged compared to 2023, but halved compared to the peak of almost 2000 appeals recorded between 2017 and 2018. The trend expressed by these data is attributable to the overcoming of the emergency phase that characterised the various episodes of 'betrayed savings' linked to the banking crises of recent years. With this, the role of the Arbitrator tends to find its physiological function after the pathologies of the past. And the number of one thousand appeals per year was what was budgeted for when the body was set up.

The fact that the Italian investment system largely passes through the banks can also be seen in the litigation taking place before the ACF. 71 intermediaries were involved in the new proceedings initiated in 2024, with a clear prevalence of banking intermediaries (60), which received more than 80% of the total number of appeals. The top 10 intermediaries (all banks) accumulated more than 60% of the litigation initiated last year. From 2017 to date, 242 intermediaries have been summoned before the Arbitrator, compared to 1,229 intermediaries who are members of the system.