AFM sound remunerations fines imposed on insurance companies annulled by court

On 3 May 2016 the Administrative High Court for Trade and Industry (“CBb”) annulled the fines that the Netherlands Authority for the financial markets (“AFM”) imposed on three large insurance companies (ECLI:NL:CBB:2016:95, ECLI:NL:CBB:2016:96 and ECLI:NL:CBB:2016:97, in Dutch). Each of the insurance companies had received a EUR 250,000 fine, because they, according to the AFM,  did not conduct a sound remuneration policy in 2011. From 1 January 2011 onwards,  the requirement to conduct a sound remuneration policy was introduced. The CBb ruled that the AFM had not been allowed to directly impose the fines in the year 2011, but that it first had to provide the insurance companies with a sufficient amount of time to adapt their existing employment terms to the new requirement. Because the AFM did not provide the insurance companies with a genuine possibility to comply with the policy requirement, the AFM could not impose the fines. The CBb therefore annulled these fines.

With this CBb judgment the legal proceedings have ended. Finnius represented two of the three insurance companies.