There was a lower number of disagreements between Spanish market intermediaries and retail investors in 2004, according to the Bolsa de Madrid Ombudsman’s Annual Report. The number of files processed by the Ombudsman office in 2004 was 42, down from 79 in 2003.
While disputes are dropping, the number of investors in the market is rising. The improvement in market conditions over the last two years has led to a higher number of retail investors, who account for 26% of the Spanish population.
Of the 42 files processed, 4 were settled by a final report. This figure represents 10% of the total, against 4% in 2003 and 64% in 2001. In contrast, the percentage of cases settled through common agreement was 10% against 27% in 2003.