FINANCIAL SERVICES OMBUDSMAN AGAIN CALLS FOR POWERS TO NAME AND SHAME - The office of the Financial Services Ombudsman heard more complaints last month than in any other month since it was set up. Its review of last year, which gives a breakdown of complaints received and dealt with by the office, shows that complaints about investment and insurance products were at record highs.
Bill Prasifka, the Financial Services Ombudsman, says his office received 348 complaints about mortgages in the last six months of 2010 as more people find themselves in arrears, in negative equity and general financial distress. He says each complaint is decided on its facts and a lot of it comes down to what is contained in the contract between the consumer and the financial institution. He says his office follows the advice of the Financial Regulator which says that banks must act in the best interest of their customers.
Mr Prasifka says his office has some very substantial powers, but not the power to name a financial institution that a complaint has been made against. He says the office should be granted these powers and points out that it would actually result in no extra costs. He says that if banks or insurance companies could be named, it would act as an incentive for change.
The Financial Services Ombudsman says the level of complaints to his office continue to reach historic highs and if the current rate continues, complaints will be up to 20-30% higher this year. He says this is an issue of great concern to him, adding that the only way out of the mess is to actively work with the industry to facilitate real change.
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MORNING BRIEFS - The McCarthy group on State assets said yesterday that Aer Lingus, because the Government has a shareholding in an otherwise publicly listed company, is the asset that could be sold more quickly. But he said the Government's shareholding is not worth much with the moment as globally airline shares are under pressure, and the Government should sit on its hands for now.
*** Colm McCarthy started yesterday by stressing the report of the review group on state assets and liabilities is an advisory document on what his group thinks would be possible to commercialise. He said the Government is not under any immediate pressure to sell assets anyway, because of the EU/IMF package. He said he would be surprised if any of the assets could be sold during the year, adding that any sale could be a complicated process. He also said he was not suggesting the assets be put up on Ebay straight away
***On the currency markets the euro is trading at $1.46 and 88.7 pence sterling.
