ASSOCIAZIONE BANCARIA ITALIANA
PRESS RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
THE AUTHORITY AND THE BANK OF ITALY HAVE BEGUN AN INVESTIGATION INTO ABI INVESTMENT AND CREDIT CARD CONTRACTS: THEY MAY RESTRICT COMPETITION
The Competition Authority and the Bank of Italy, acting separately, have resolved to begin an investigation into the general contractual terms and conditions set by ABI - Associazione Bancaria Italiana - for the use of the credit card and investment services, notified to the Authority by ABI.
The two standard contracts lay down the terms and conditions governing relations between the banks and customers for personal investment management services, and for the brokerage of financial instruments and instruments of payment. Some of these conditions may prove to be anti-competitive due to the uniform character of the essential elements of the contracts.
Furthermore, the two standard contracts contain a number of aspects that are not able to protect the customer. More specifically, both of them contain provisions permitting the bank to unilaterally change the contractual terms and conditions, even to the detriment of the customer; the same conditions provide that any generally applicable changes need not be notified to each customer individually, but by publishing them in the Official Gazette. The deadline for the exercise of the right of withdrawal according to the previously agreed terms and conditions is counted from the date of publication in the Official Gazette. As far as the contract for the investment services is concerned, investor protection for the purposes of ensuring competition between brokers and intermediaries does not appear to be guaranteed according the conditions governing operations when there is conflict of interest.
The general adoption of these two contracts could standardise the conduct of the banks, applying clauses which seem to be biased to the benefit of the banks. This could level down service quality, making the financial conditions more onerous to the customer, and limit customer mobility.
The Competition Authority and the Bank of Italy will closely coordinate their respective investigations. The Competition Authority will complete its investigation by 31 October 2004.
Rome, 13 November 2003