Banks too slow to pay out compensation says regulator
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has concluded that banks have been too slow in paying out compensation to businesses which were mis-sold interest-rate hedging products. So far, only £2m of the £3bn which has been allocated to compensate company's, has been paid out. The FCA began investigating interest-rate swap mis-selling in May.
FCA chief executive Martin Wheatley said:
Whilst we are moving in the right direction, we expect to see the pace at which cases are resolved and redress paid quicken over the coming weeks. Many small business owners have been waiting too long to find out if they were mis-sold and we are now eager to see people repaid as soon as possible.
The FCA's figures showed that for the month of September a total of 200 offer letters were sent and 22 were accepted. The banks current target is to send out 1,000 compensation offers in October with figure increasing in each of the coming months.