These last years, the architecture of the control of the financial sector has been profoundly modified, as we now have a bipolar model called “Twin Peaks”. From now on, the National Bank of Belgium (NBB) will exercise control in order to preserve the macro- and micro-economic stability of the financial system, while the Financial Services and Markets Authority (the FSMA) will supervise the markets and control the respect of the rules of conduct by the financial intermediaries and ensure the security of customers.
With regards to the aspect of control that lies within the competences of the FSMA, it was important that the latter should have the necessary powers to exercise this control. For this purpose, the law of 30 July 2013, also called “Twin Peaks 2”, was published.
This law has, inter alia, the objective to improve the present legal framework in order to rapidly increase the efficiency of the control and allow for a better protection of the users of financial products and services, as well as increase the overall coherence of the rules ensuring the protection of the users of financial products and services.
In order to create a level playing field between the banks, the investment companies and the insurers, but also between all the financial services intermediaries, the law makes the MiFID rules of conduct applicable to insurers and insurance intermediaries, as well as to brokers in banking and investment services.
These MiFID rules of conduct impose (i) the obligation to act in an honest, fair and professional way serving as best as possible the interests of the clients, and (ii) the obligation to provide correct, clear and not misleading information to clients.
For insurance companies and insurance intermediaries, the new law contains detailed rules relating to the content of contracts and to some pre-contractual information.
With regards to savings and investment insurance, the insurers will have to establish whether the insurance contract is or not suitable for the client (the “suitability test”) or if it is or not appropriate (the “appropriateness test”).
The transparency rules on fees are also rendered applicable.
The practical implementation of these MiFID rules of conduct still has to be specified by three Royal Decrees, the publication of which is expected shortly.
