On 2 June the regulator published a public consultation paper and distributed it to investment companies, including IFAs, operating in Spain. The document outlined its intention to collate a greater level of detail about the services, clients and the advice given by firms it regulates from 31 December 2010.
According to a CNMV spokesperson, the purpose of the new requirements is to ‘strengthen the monitoring standards’ of firms providing investment services in the country.
The increased requirements will include informing the CNMV annually of the number of and risk profile of clients, details of the profits generated through investment advice, details of the advice given, customer complaints, analysis and reporting of suspicious transactions. The CNMV said firms will need to submit these new details within two months of the new legislation coming into force.
The publication of the circular follows the CNMV’s decision earlier this year to seek out advisory firms working in Spain without the necessary authority and is a further indication that the watchdog is keen to tighten investment regulation as a whole.
