FSA tells banks to change sales rewards
National banks are rewarding sales staff in ways that encourage mis-selling of financial products and new rules may be needed to protect consumers, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) said today.
FSA managing director Martin Wheatley said that cultural change was needed at firms so they no longer just see customers as “someone to sell to” rather than to serve.
Wheatley said that firms must change the way their incentive schemes for sales teams are structured and signalled a tougher regulatory approach may be taken.
“The introduction of new rules is also being considered to make certain that this new, fairer, approach is hard-wired into the way firms do business, and enforceable if they disregard them,” Wheatley said.
UK consumers have suffered 20 years or more of mis-selling scandals, from pensions to home loans and product insurance.