By means of CVM Instruction No. 529, of November 1st, 2012 (CVM Instr. 529/2012), the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (Comissão de Valores Mobiliários – CVM) established the Ombudsman´s Office (Ouvidoria) within the Brazilian securities market, which will be in full force and effect as of July 1st, 2013.
Pursuant to CVM Instr. 529/2012 the institutions authorized to act as part of the distribution system, the service providers of custody of securities, the agents responsible for issuing certificates and the service providers of book-entry shares must establish the Ombudsman services to receive, register, analyze, investigate and respond to consultations, suggestions, complaints, criticisms, compliments and complaints from customers about the activities related to the securities market.
These institutions shall indicate the person responsible for the Ombudsman's Office with CVM, which must be linked to the institution. This obligation, however, can be fulfilled directly through its own organizational component, or indirectly through membership of a class entity to which the institution is affiliated. The institutions which already have Ombudsman's Office, in accordance with the rules of the Brazilian Monetary Council (Conselho Monetário Nacional – CMN) may use the same service to meet the obligation provided for in CVM Instr. 529/2012. The institutions that are part of the same economic group can establish one sole organizational Ombudsman that will act on behalf of all members of the group.
The purpose of this standard is to establish through the Ombudsman a higher instance of communication by intermediaries and service providers with investors in the securities market. This instance is intended to address those situations that the usual channels of service have not been able to solve.
CVM requires that complaints and consultations be subject to periodic reports which may be used by intermediaries and service providers to identify possible improvements in procedures and routines. These reports will also allow CVM to monitor the quality of the services rendered.
It is not necessary to implement segregated Ombudsman's structures for issuers of securities and administrators of investment funds, because these institutions already have their own departments to take care of the relationship with investors, namely the Director of Relations with Investors (Diretor de Relações com Investidores) in the case of the issuers of securities and the Officer responsible for Services to Unithholders (Diretor responsável pelo Atendimento aos Cotistas) in the case of the investment funds, which are assimilated to the Ombudsman to comply with certain requirements of CVM Instr. 529/2012, mainly meeting the demands and complaints received by CVM regarding the issuer or the investment fund.
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