The
FSA has had a busy week. It has announced its aims
for the next year and a development in its statutory powers.
These annoucenments have resulted in members of the financial
services community accusing the FSA of being too supportive
of the consumer. The aims include a call for the reduction
in the use of jargon and small print, and removing complex
packages from the market. The FSA argues that many financial
services concentrate heavily on the inital sales of products
and services with inadequate support for after-sales, such
as promoting cheaper packages that may benefit the customer.
The development in the FSA's powers will allow them to review
complaints as well as monitor the details of contract terms
and the advertising of financial services. With its new
responsibility for complaints, the FSA will be able to publish
league tables of companies performance from the consumer's
perspective.
Comment: The Financial
Services Authority is an independent regulatory body
that has been in existence since 1997, before which it was
previously known as the Securities and Investments Board.
