Banque CIC was fined a total of 1.25 million euros for breaches of European regulations relating to the support and information of its customers on the financial markets, the Authority announced on Tuesday. markets (AMF).
In respect of its shortcomings within the framework of its activity as an investment advice service, Crédit Industriel et Commercial was the subject of a warning by the Sanctions Committee and a fine of one million euros. fine, CIC Sud Ouest coping for its part with a fine of 250,000 euros.
The two establishments are penalized for not having marketed financial instruments adapted to each customer, a procedure for classifying customers as well as an effective and operational control system and another effective and operational evaluation of the adequacy of the investments.
CIC is also criticized for having failed in its obligation to provide its clients with clear, accurate and non-misleading information on the costs and fees inherent in financial instruments.
In May, a fine of 1.1 million euros was requested against the CIC and 250,000 euros against the Sud-Ouest establishment. At the end of the investigation, no damage had been established to the detriment of the customers and the number of grievances had been reduced.
If it is not shown or alleged that a loss has been suffered, recognized the Sanctions Committee, the breaches are all the more serious in that they concern non-professional clients while this practice was widespread in Europe. at the time of the reproaches, including from other players in the sector.
The European directive known as MiFID 2, which imposes rules of conduct on investment service providers to better protect their clients, came into force at the start of 2018. Depending on the institution, the control was carried out for periods between January 2018 and April 2021.
CIC takes note of the two decisions and will continue to pursue the improvement of its compliance processes to better protect its customers, the bank reacted to AFP, recalling that no economic profit has been made by the bank and that no customer has been harmed.
CIC had devoted approximately 4.9 million euros to improving its compliance.
Financial advice represents 0.55% of the customer portfolio of Crdit Industriel et Commercial (Ile-de-France), and 0.4% of that of Banque du Sud Ouest.
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