The EBA extends the existing Joint Committee Guidelines on complaints handling to credit servicers

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today final Guidelines that extend the existing Joint Committee Guidelines on complaints handling (JC Guidelines) to credit servicers under the new Credit Servicers Directive. When handling complaints from borrowers, credit services are now required to apply the same effective and transparent procedures that have been applied for more than a decade to other firms in the banking, insurances and securities sectors.

The Guidelines cover the complaints management policy, the complaints management function, the registration of complaints, the reporting to the competent authorities or ombudsman, the internal follow-up, the provision of information to the complainant, and the procedures for responding to complaints (e.g. investigation of the complaint, communication of the decision and delay to do so).

In addition to the extension of the scope of the Guidelines to credit servicers, the EBA has introduced some non-substantive changes so as to align the Guidelines with the amendments made to the EBA Regulation in 2020. The latter changes allow the EBA to delete procedural requirements addressed to national authorities and which are now no longer required.

The EBA Guidelines, and the consolidated version of the JC Guidelines (see Annex of the final Report), will be published in all 24 languages in 2025, once the proposed EU Payment Services Regulation enters into force and the EBA Regulation is amended accordingly.

Background and legal basis

The EBA developed these Guidelines in support of the transposition of Article 24 (1) of the Directive (EU) 2021/2167 on credit servicers and credit purchasers (Credit Servicers Directive, also referred to as the ‘NPL Directive’ or ‘Loan Servicers Directive’), which provides that “Member States shall ensure that credit servicers establish and maintain effective and transparent procedures for the handling of complaints from borrowers”.