Studio Bandera is assisting and defending numerous account holders in actions for damages against Veneto Banca and Banca Popolare di Vicenza.
Among the latest favorable provisions obtained is the one pronounced by the “Arbitro per le Controversie Finanziarie (ACF)”, established by Consob.
In this case, the firm successfully defended an account holder who had to incur the total depreciation of Veneto Banca shares acquired as a result of the intermediary’s negligent conduct.
Specifically, the Board upheld all of Studio Bandera’s claims and declared Veneto Banca liable to pay damages to the plaintiff, for the breach described, in the amount equal to the full value of the shares acquired, as well as legal interest and appreciation.
The ruling is of interest not only because of the positive outcome obtained in favour of the account holder but also because of the reasons and observations made by the Judicial Panel, which in fact censured the actions of Veneto Banca also for its failure to provide correct information on the characteristics and inherent risks of illiquid stocks.
The following is an excerpt from the ruling:
“Accepting the appeal, the Board declares the intermediary obliged to compensate the plaintiff for the damages and the breach described in the narrative, for the total amount, thus including monetary revaluation up to the date of the decision, of € […], in addition to statutory interest from the same date until the day of payment, and sets the deadline for execution at thirty days from receipt of the decision. Within the same time limit, the intermediary shall notify the ACF of the actions carried out in order to comply with the decision, pursuant Article 16, paragraph 1, of the regulation adopted by Consob with Resolution No. 19602 of 4th May 2016. The intermediary is required to pay Consob the sum of € […], pursuant Article 18, paragraph 3, of the aforementioned regulation, adopted by resolution No. 19602 of 4th May 2016, in the manner indicated on the institutional website www.acf.consob.it, “Intermediaries” section ”.
