Complaints and ABF

Customers may file a complaint in one of the following ways:

• By regular mail to the following address: Banca Sistema S.p.A. - Complaints Office - Largo Augusto 1/A, at the corner of Via Verziere 13, 20122, Milan;

• By email to: reclami@bancasistema.it;

• By certified email to bancasistema@legalmail.it;

• By fax to +39 02 72093979.

The Bank will respond as promptly as possible and, in any case:

• Within 15 business days of receiving the complaint, if it concerns Payment services. In exceptional circumstances, if the Bank is unable to respond within 15 business days for reasons beyond its control, it is required to send an interim response, clearly stating the reasons for the delay in responding to the complaint and specifying the deadline by which the Customer will receive a final response. In any case, the deadline for receiving the final response shall not exceed 30 calendar days or any other deadline in effect at the time.

• Within 60 business days, if the complaint relates to banking and financial transactions and services, or

• Within 90 business days if the complaint relates to investment services.

If the complaint is valid, the Bank will confirm this in writing to the Customer. Should the resolution of the issue reported by the Customer not be immediate, or should it require organizational or technological measures, the response will specify—to the extent foreseeable—the technical timeframes that will therefore be necessary.

If, on the other hand, the Bank decides not to accept the complaint, it will still respond in writing, specifying the reasons for its decision. In that case, or if the Customer has not received a response within the specified time frame, or if the Customer is otherwise dissatisfied with the outcome of the complaint, the Customer may contact:

In the event of disputes concerning banking and financial transactions and services or payment services covered by the “Payment Services Directive” (PSD2):

• the Banking and Financial Ombudsman (ABF): if the claim concerns the payment of a sum of money, up to a limit of €200,000 (two hundred thousand euros); with no limit on the amount in all other cases. To learn how to contact the Arbitrator and understand its scope of jurisdiction, you may visit the website www.arbitrobancariofinanziario.it, inquire at branches of the Bank of Italy, or contact the Bank. Filing a claim with the ABF exempts the Customer from undergoing the mediation procedure described in the following paragraph, should the Customer intend to bring the dispute before a court; or, to comply with the obligation set forth in Legislative Decree No. 28 of March 4, 2010, to undergo the mediation process before bringing the matter before a court—even in the absence of a prior complaint:

• to the Banking and Financial Ombudsman—Association for the Resolution of Banking, Financial, and Corporate Disputes (ADR). The Banking and Financial Ombudsman’s Rules of Procedure may be consulted on the website www.conciliatorebancario.it or requested from the Bank;

• or to another body listed in the relevant registry maintained by the Ministry of Justice and specializing in banking and financial matters;

In the event of disputes concerning investment services and investing activities:

• to the Financial Disputes Arbitrator (ACF)—established by CONSOB via Resolution No. 19602 of May 4, 2016—which, as of January 9, 2017, replaces the Ombudsman – Banking Jury and the Chamber of Conciliation and Arbitration at CONSOB for disputes regarding the Bank’s compliance with the obligations of due diligence, disclosure, fairness, and transparency set forth in contractual relationships with investors other than qualified counterparties and professional clients, as defined by Legislative Decree No. 58 of February 24, 1998 (TUF). Access to the Arbitrator is entirely free of charge for the investor, and reduced timeframes are provided for reaching a decision (90 days from the completion of the case file containing the appeal, the arguments, and the documentation submitted by the parties). The right to appeal to the ACF cannot be waived by the investor and may always be exercised, even in the presence of clauses referring disputes to other out-of-court dispute resolution bodies. Disputes (up to a claimed amount of 500,000 euros) relating to the violation of the obligations of disclosure, due diligence, fairness, and transparency to which intermediaries are bound in their dealings with investors when carrying out the activities governed by Part II of the TUF, including cross-border disputes and disputes covered by EU Regulation No. 524/2013. The Bank will evaluate complaints received in light of the guidelines derived from decisions made by the ACF. For any further information, customers are invited to visit http://www.consob.it/web/area-pubblica/arbitro-per-le-controversie-finanziarie

• or, to comply with the obligation set forth in Legislative Decree No. 28 of March 4, 2010, to pursue mediation proceedings before resorting to the courts—even in the absence of a prior complaint—the Banking and Financial Ombudsman—Association for the Resolution of Banking, Financial, and Corporate Disputes (ADR). The Rules of the Banking and Financial Ombudsman can be consulted on the website www.conciliatorebancario.it or requested from the Bank;

• or to another body listed in the relevant registry maintained by the Ministry of Justice and specializing in banking and financial matters.

It should also be noted that, in implementation of European Directive (2013/11/EU) on alternative dispute resolution for consumer disputes (transposed in Italy by Legislative Decree 130/2015) and EU Regulation No. 524/2013, both dated May 21, 2013, the platform created by the European Union for filing complaints regarding products or services purchased online (Online Dispute Resolution – ODR) is now operational; the link is provided below: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/odr/main/index.cfm?event=main.home.chooseLanguage

Notice pursuant to ISVAP Provision No. 24 of May 19, 2008, as amended and supplemented by IVASS Provision No. 30 of March 24, 2015, and by IVASS Provision No. 46 of May 3, 2016. The Bank is registered in Section D of the Single Register of Insurance and Reinsurance Intermediaries (RUI) under No. D000455616, as it acts as a distributor of insurance products offered by MetLife Europe Limited d.a.c., General Representative Office for Italy; for further information on these products, please refer to the following link: www.metlife.it/polizze-partnership

The Bank will respond to complaints within its jurisdiction within 45 days of receipt (or within 45 days or the different deadline specified in the complaint, if the complaint is forwarded to the Bank by IVASS ), while it will promptly forward to MetLife Europe Limited d.a.c. any complaints received regarding the conduct of the aforementioned company, simultaneously notifying the complainant. In the event that the complaint is not accepted or is only partially accepted, the Bank informs the complainant that, before taking the matter to court, the complainant may contact IVASS (by downloading the appropriate form from www.ivass.it and submitting it via regular mail, fax, or certified email to: IVASS – Consumer Protection Service; Via del Quirinale 21 – 00187 Rome (RM) FAX 06 42133206, Certified Email (PEC) tutela.consumatore@pec.ivass.it) or to the alternative dispute resolution mechanisms provided for by law. With regard to disputes concerning the quantification of benefits, the judicial authorities retain exclusive jurisdiction. Before bringing a matter before the courts, any dispute arising from insurance contracts must first be subject to an attempt at mediation (Legislative Decree No. 28 of March 4, 2010, as amended). For complete information, please refer to the “IVASS Information” attachment at the bottom of this section, also available at the Bank’s branches. In this same section, interested customers can find the Practical Guide to the Banking and Financial Arbitrator, the Banking and Financial Conciliator, and the Arbitrator for Financial Disputes, as well as the disclosure required under IVASS regulations; all of these documents may also be requested at any branch of the Bank.

Any future regulatory updates will also be posted in this section.

On August 12, 2020, the Bank of Italy issued the new “Provisions on Out-of-Court Dispute Resolution Systems for Banking and Financial Transactions and Services,” which introduced an obligation for financial intermediaries, in the event of non-compliance or failure to cooperate with the decisions of the Banking and Financial Arbitrator, to publish a notice on the homepage of their website for a period of 6 months.

The following are the decisions regarding which non-compliance or failure to cooperate is being disclosed: