Cifo shows its value for finance

Now from its annual report it seems that the office, funded at £1m. a year by the finance industry in the islands, has settled down, with a relatively stable 400 complaints a year, and interesting development of its case statistics.

The ombudsman accepts complaints from customers of Channel Island entities, wherever they live. While the source of those complaints haven’t changed much – typically Guernsey 8%, Jersey 20%, and the remainder from the rest of the world – who they are complaining about has changed.

In the early days very nearly two-thirds of all complaints made were against Guernsey-based service providers, and mainly about the trust sector. The island had 64% of all complaints made, compared to 34% in Jersey. The trust sector was 29% of all complaints, second-highest only to investments, and some 45% of all Guernsey-linked complaints.

Now Jersey accounts for 56% of all complaints and Guernsey 37%. And complaints against the trust sector have all but disappeared. Today banking – mainly about straightforward current account issues – are to the fore.

The annual report, and a number of anonymised case studies within it, flag two major issues. One is the nature of complaints, which demonstrate how muddled thinking and simple administrative delays can cost a company dear, both in terms of compensation and reputation.

The second is how valuable the office is for the reputation of financial services in the Channel Islands. Guernsey rushed to introduce depositor compensation following the collapse of Landsbanki back in 2008 – but it was impossible for those customers to claim from it. Some of those customers did their best to damage the island’s reputation.

This time the ombudsman was a proactive move – and clearly there is an ongoing demand for it. And whether aggrieved customers win or lose their claim, they should be reassured that proper process is in place, and that financial services in the islands are in a better place as a result.