CONSOB: INTERMEDIARIES MUST INFORM CUSTOMERS ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF BREXIT "NO DEAL"

• 12 Mar 2019

The 12 March 2019 Consob has issued a warning about the impact for investment services even in the event of closing relationships following Brexit.

To protect investors and in consideration both of the uncertainty characterizing at present the negotiations and of the approaching of the date of withdrawal from European Union, Consob has released Communication no. 3 of 2019.

Intermediaries, banks and investment firms are required to adopt appropriate safety measures to manage the event of a "no deal" Brexit. This could lead, in fact, to the loss of the "European passport" as an enabling condition for the provision of investment services throughout the EU.

The Consob Communication no. 3/2019 affects both British intermediaries operating in Italy and Italian intermediaries operating in the United Kingdom. They must provide all their customers, including retail ones, with timely and complete information on the effects that Brexit may have on the relationships for the provision of investment services. This in the case of a definite leave of the European Union (EU) by the United Kingdom (Brexit) in the absence of both a bilateral agreement (so-called "no deal") and of transitional measures adopted at the national level.

More specifically, intermediaries must guarantee that customers receive both clear and understandable information on the investment services rendered as well on the future of existing relationships, including the methods and timing requested by any conclusion of the relationships themselves

Please visit the following link to see Consob communication http://www.consob.it/web/consob-and-its-activities/other-regulatory-measures/documenti/english/resolutions/ra20190312_3.html