194/98
17 November 1998
PATRICIA HEWITT RECOGNISES ACHIEVEMENTS OF EIGHT MORE FIRMS
Firms continue to make progress towards completing the first phase of the reviews of personal pensions mis-selling, and a further eight have been removed from the Treasury's monthly list, Economic Secretary Patricia Hewitt announced today.
The eight firms were removed on the advice of the Personal Investment Authority ( PIA). Seven of them - Albany Life, Allied Dunbar, Canada Life, Gan, National Westminster, Royal London and Wesleyan - had time limits for review ending on 30 September. The eighth, M&E Network, had a deadline of 30 June. All have now been judged by the PIA to have met their targets. Ms Hewitt said:
"I welcome the obvious efforts now being made towards completion of phase 1. It is encouraging to be able to remove eight firms from the published list. However, 21 firms are still listed, and some still have a lot of work to do. I will be looking to them all to devote every effort to their reviews."
Of the 21 firms whose results are published today:
- all but two have resolved over 75 per cent of their cases.
- seven firms have now resolved over 90 per cent of their cases.
The Minister stressed that firms must maintain their recent progress and ensure that all phase 1 cases are completed by 31 December. She said:
"The pensions mis-selling scandal did untold damage to the credibility of the industry and caused a lot of distress for their customers. I want to see that credibility restored. Redress for mis-sold customers must be agreed in line with the regulators' timescale, which means all firms completing their reviews by the end of the year."
Ms Hewitt reminded the industry that offering redress is not the end of the process, and reiterated her call for all firms to follow up case reviews by delivering redress swiftly. She emphasised that the PIA would have her full support in its monitoring work, and in any action taken against laggards.
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. The Economic Secretary published the figures in response to a Parliamentary Question from Jackie Lawrence MP [Preseli Pembrokeshire].
2. The former Economic Secretary, Helen Liddell, said in November 1997 that firms which have met their targets will have their names removed from the list published by the Treasury. The eight firms mentioned will join the 12 companies taken off the list in July (Treasury news release 116/98). These were: AXA Equity & Law, Barclays Life, Britannic Assurance, Commercial Union, Godwins, Guardian, Lloyds TSB, Midland Bank, Norwich Union, Prudential, Royal & Sun Alliance and United Assurance.
3. The Personal Investment Authority (PIA) has levied fines related to pensions mis-selling. These include:
|
Royal & Sun Alliance |
Nov 98 |
225,000 |
| Raynes Hodder Davison | Nov 98 |
10,000 |
| Interdependence | Nov 98 |
175,000 |
| IFA Network | Oct 98 |
250,000 |
| Sedgewick Noble Lowndes | Oct 98 |
100,000 |
| Minet Consultancy Services | Jul 98 |
250,000 |
| J&H Marsh and McLennan | Jun 98 |
200,000 |
| Lincoln Assurance | Jun 98 |
70,000 |
| Financial Options | Jun 98 |
400,000 |
|
Sun Life of Canada |
Apr 98 |
600,000 |
| Brittanic Assurance | Mar 98 |
525,000 |
| Countrywide | Feb 98 |
250,000 |
|
London & Manchester |
Jan 98 |
525,000 |
|
Cox Hepburn Financial Services |
Jan 98 |
15,000 |
| Ward Consultancy | Dec 97 |
20,000 |
| Albany Life | Dec 97 |
375,000 |
|
Moran Webb Insurance |
Oct 97 |
15,000 |
| Friends Provident Life Office | Sep 97 |
450,000 |
| DBS Financial Management | Sep 97 |
425,000 |
| M&E Network | Aug 97 |
100,000 |
|
Lincoln Independent |
Jul 97 |
75,000 |
| Berkeley Independent Advisors | Apr 97 |
70,000 |
4. 222 small fines have also been levied, mainly on Independent Financial Advisors. At 10 November 1998, these amounted to #5.6 million.
5. The PIA have today taken disciplinary action against a further 20 firms and issued fines totalling #76,000 and expelled one firm. Further details are available from the FSA Press Office on 0207 676 3262.
PROGRESS BY PENSIONS FIRMS IN RESOLVING CASES OF PERSONAL PENSIONS MIS-SELLING IN THE PERIOD TO THE END OF OCTOBER 98
|
A |
B |
C |
D |
|
|
50 - 75% of Cases Resolved |
||||
|
Countrywide |
5,205 |
2,644 |
351 |
202 |
|
DBS |
2,410 |
914 |
939 |
225 |
|
Over 75% of Cases Resolved |
||||
|
IFA Network |
382 |
119 |
167 |
112 |
|
Burns Anderson |
1,278 |
435 |
612 |
242 |
|
Financial Options |
549 |
330 |
134 |
31 |
|
Windsor Life |
9,654 |
4,104 |
4,608 |
326 |
|
Abbey Life |
18,152 |
6,434 |
9,696 |
1,307 |
|
Sun Life of Canada |
28,993 |
11,163 |
14,722 |
2,645 |
|
Lincoln National |
13,581 |
2,218 |
10,423 |
1,409 |
|
London and Manchester |
8,568 |
1,578 |
6,484 |
703 |
|
Standard Life |
7,466 |
901 |
5,876 |
1,289 |
|
Hill Samuel |
6,120 |
914 |
4,818 |
712 |
|
Colonial |
8,728 |
3,149 |
5,161 |
606 |
|
Sedgwick |
16,884 |
9,824 |
5,512 |
1,865 |
|
CIS |
44,681 |
7,745 |
36,121 |
14,132 |
|
Berkeley Independent |
186 |
123 |
47 |
32 |
|
Friends Provident |
7,120 |
1,327 |
5,414 |
828 |
|
Hogg Robinson |
2,324 |
861 |
1,381 |
472 |
|
Equitable Life |
7,628 |
1,967 |
5,400 |
1,816 |
|
Pearl |
47,541 |
4,640 |
41,991 |
5,912 |
|
Legal and General |
37,044 |
15,251 |
21,321 |
1,993 |
A: cases identified as requiring review
B: of A, cases where investor was informed that information gained during assessment excluded cases from review
C: number of assessments completed
D: cases where the investor has been informed that no redress is due.
| E |
F |
G | H | |
| 50 - 75% of Cases Resolved | ||||
| Countrywide |
149 |
121 |
2 |
57 |
|
DBS |
714 |
514 |
21 |
69 |
|
Over 75% of Cases Resolved |
||||
|
IFA Network |
55 |
55 |
14 |
75 |
|
Burns Anderson |
371 |
292 |
23 |
76 |
|
Financial Options |
72 |
57 |
10 |
76 |
|
Windsor Life |
4,282 |
3,532 |
37 |
83 |
|
Abbey Life |
8,389 |
7,408 |
41 |
83 |
|
Sun Life of Canada |
12,077 |
10,636 |
37 |
84 |
|
Lincoln National |
9,014 |
7,824 |
58 |
84 |
|
London and Manchester |
5,781 |
5,080 |
59 |
86 |
|
Standard Life |
4,587 |
4,312 |
58 |
87 |
|
Hill Samuel |
4,106 |
3,742 |
61 |
88 |
|
Colonial |
4,555 |
3,933 |
45 |
88 |
|
Sedgwick |
3,647 |
3,255 |
19 |
89 |
|
CIS |
21,989 |
18,425 |
41 |
90 |
|
Berkeley Independent |
15 |
13 |
7 |
90 |
|
Friends Provident |
4,586 |
4,315 |
61 |
91 |
|
Hogg Robinson |
909 |
799 |
34 |
92 |
|
Equitable Life |
3,584 |
3,351 |
44 |
94 |
|
Pearl |
36,079 |
34,186 |
72 |
94 |
|
Legal and General |
19,328 |
17,726 |
48 |
94 |
E: cases where redress has been offered
F: cases where redress has been accepted.
G: cases where redress has been accepted as a percentage of cases identified for review ((F/A)x100).
H: cases completed, including exclusions, as a percentage of cases identified for review (((B+D+F)/A)x100).
# = pounds sterling
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