The customer service officer (head of the SAC) is appointed by the board, must have good commercial and professional repute and suitable experience, and the appointment is notified to the supervisor. We help you choose the right profile, avoid incompatibilities and prepare the file for the Bank of Spain, the CNMV or the DGSFP.
Would your SAC head pass a review? Free assessment
Tell us who runs your SAC today and who they report to, and we will tell you whether it complies and what you need to document.
The head is ultimately responsible for the SAC, the customer service department. Their profile, their place in the org chart and the documentation of their appointment are the first things the supervisor looks at.
We check that the candidate has good commercial and professional repute, and knowledge of and experience in your institution’s financial activity, as Art. 5 of Order ECO/734/2004 requires.
We place the head outside the commercial and operational line and review which other functions they can take on without losing independence, following the Bank of Spain guidance.
We draft the appointment resolution and prepare the notice to the supervisor: at the Bank of Spain, with a CV, a good repute questionnaire and, where applicable, the SAC memorandum.
We include in the regulations the term of office, the grounds for incompatibility, ineligibility and removal, and the allocation of matters between the SAC and the ombudsman.
If you decide to have a customer ombudsman, we define its powers and its regulations, and the independent profile of recognized standing that the rules require.
We separate what the supervisor expects inside the institution (the SAC and its head) from the complaint-handling processes that can rely on third parties without hollowing out the service.
An appointment is not made once and forgotten: every change in the institution or in the person requires a review.
After obtaining the license, the institution notifies the supervisor of the head of the SAC and submits its regulations for verification.
Every appointment or removal goes through the board and is notified to the supervisor with the new head’s documentation.
If the SAC starts reporting to a commercial or operational area, its independence is called into question.
Adapting to the new Art. 29 of Law 44/2002 is also the moment to review the head’s profile, reporting line and resources.
Data from Order ECO/734/2004 and Art. 29 of Law 44/2002, as amended by Law 10/2025.
The head of the SAC and the customer ombudsman are appointed by the board of directors or equivalent body.
The appointment is notified to the supervisory authority or authorities that correspond to the institution’s activity.
Time limit for the supervisor to verify that the customer defense regulations comply with the rules.
Minimum period for filing a complaint from when the client learns of the facts. The Bank of Spain guidance considers five years appropriate, and Law 44/2002 declares complaints inadmissible once five years have passed since the facts.
The SAC and, where applicable, the ombudsman submit to the board the annual report for the prior year.
A decision by the customer ombudsman in favor of the complaint is binding on the institution.
We review the profile, the reporting line and the documentation, and prepare the notice to the supervisor.
They must be a person of good commercial and professional repute with adequate knowledge and experience (Art. 5 of Order ECO/734/2004). The rules treat someone as experienced if they have held roles related to the institution’s own financial activity.
The board of directors or equivalent body appoints them (or general management, in a branch), and the appointment is notified to the supervisor. At the Bank of Spain this is done through the P70 procedure, providing the appointment resolution, the CV, a copy of the ID document, the good repute questionnaire and, for new institutions, the SAC memorandum.
Yes, provided they are not related to commercial or operational activity. The Bank of Spain guidance allows the SAC to be integrated into a department with other functions depending on the size of the institution, but asks that its reporting line not take part in business functions. Placing it under internal audit would be justified only in small or low-complexity institutions.
It depends on the supervisor. The rules expressly provide only for a single group-wide SAC. For institutions supervised by the Bank of Spain, its guidance holds that, as a general rule, the SAC and its head must be within the institution’s own structure (or the parent’s, if the SAC is single for the group) so as not to transfer responsibility to a third party, although it accepts outside support for complaint-handling processes that do not hollow out the service. For institutions supervised by the CNMV or the DGSFP, it must be analyzed case by case.
The SAC is mandatory and is part of the institution. The customer ombudsman is voluntary, must be an individual or entity of recognized standing independent of the organization, and decides the matters the regulations assign to it. Its decisions in the customer’s favor are binding on the institution.
The rules require the ombudsman to be an individual or entity of recognized standing in the legal, economic or financial field, independent of the institution and acting independently. They do not limit the role to a specific type of professional, but you must be able to demonstrate that independence and standing, and the appointment is notified to the supervisor in the same way as that of the head of the SAC.
Yes. Art. 29(1) of Law 44/2002 allows it to be appointed individually or jointly, by line of business, geographic proximity, business volume or another criterion. The SAC, by contrast, can be shared only by institutions in the same economic group.
Among other points, the term of office and its renewal, the grounds for incompatibility, ineligibility and removal, the matters that fall to the SAC and to the ombudsman, the duty of all departments to provide them with information and the time limit for filing complaints, which cannot be less than two years (Art. 8(3) of Order ECO/734/2004).
A good appointment speaks for itself: a proven profile, visible independence and a complete file for the supervisor.
A track record of respect for commercial rules and experience in the institution’s financial activity.
The head does not report to whoever makes or influences the decisions being complained about.
Board resolution, CV, good repute questionnaire and verified regulations.
Source: Order ECO/734/2004 (Arts. 4, 5, 7, 8 and 17), Law 44/2002 (Art. 29) and Bank of Spain guidance on customer service departments.
These terms appear in Order ECO/734/2004, in Law 44/2002 and in the Bank of Spain guidance.
Ultimately responsible for the customer service department, appointed by the board.
A track record of respect for commercial laws and for good commercial and financial practices.
Having held roles related to the institution’s own financial activity.
An individual or entity of recognized standing, independent of the institution, acting independently and autonomously.
Governs the SAC, the ombudsman and their relationship; approved by the board and verified by the supervisor.
A shared service for institutions in the same economic group, located in a supervised institution.
Register of SACs and customer ombudsmen and verification of regulations, through the electronic office.
Measures so that the SAC decides autonomously and without conflicts of interest with the commercial areas.
Statistics, decisions, criteria and recommendations presented to the board in the first quarter.
Head of the SAC: yes: every institution covered by Art. 29(1) must have a SAC.
Customer ombudsman: no: it is a voluntary role.
Head of the SAC: within the structure of the institution or of the group parent (Bank of Spain criterion).
Customer ombudsman: independent of the institution’s organization.
Head of the SAC: good repute, knowledge and experience.
Customer ombudsman: the same, plus recognized standing and independence.
Head of the SAC: the board of directors, with notice to the supervisor.
Customer ombudsman: the board, with possible ratification by the shareholders’ meeting depending on the bylaws.
Head of the SAC: only within the same economic group.
Customer ombudsman: may be appointed jointly with other institutions.
These are the points that come up most often when the supervisor reviews a SAC.
Tell us who currently heads your SAC, who they report to and which supervisor you fall under, and we will tell you what to review.
Updated October 15, 2026
Order ECO/734/2004 governs the customer service departments and the customer ombudsman of financial institutions. After Law 10/2025, which repealed several of its articles and moved the general regime to Art. 29 of Law 44/2002, its rules on the appointment of the head, the ombudsman and the regulations remain in force.
Art. 5 requires good commercial and professional repute and adequate knowledge and experience. Good repute is present in someone with a track record of respect for commercial laws and good commercial and financial practices; experience, in someone who has held roles related to the institution’s financial activity. The board appoints the head and the appointment is notified to the supervisor.
Art. 29(3) of Law 44/2002 requires the SAC to be separated from commercial or operational services so that it decides autonomously and without conflicts of interest, taking supervisory guidance into account. The Bank of Spain guidance asks that the head have authority and access to the board and that their superiors report to bodies with control or supervisory functions.
Order ECO/734/2004 and Law 44/2002 expressly provide only for a single group-wide SAC. For institutions supervised by the Bank of Spain, its guidance holds that, as a general rule, the SAC and its head must be within the institution’s own structure, and that outsourcing complaint-handling processes cannot hollow out the service or reduce internal control or supervision. This is a separate matter from outsourcing critical functions, which has its own rules.
It is voluntary and may be appointed individually or jointly. It must be an individual or entity of recognized standing in the legal, economic or financial field, independent of the organization, acting independently and autonomously. Its decisions in the complainant’s favor are binding on the institution, without prejudice to judicial protection or the administrative route.
The head is the central piece of the customer service department of financial institutions, which must be adapted to Law 10/2025 before December 28, 2026, and of the first stage before complaints to the CNMV or the Bank of Spain.