FINANCE

Lenders and insurers will be protected by financial ombudsman

Law on financial ombudsman became effective on September 3, 2018, Interfax news agency reports. Financial ombudsman is presidential commissioner for protection of rights of consumers of financial services.

Anton Denisov | RIAN

Financial ombudsman will help resolving disputes between individuals and banks, microlenders, and insurance companies. The disputes within his competence must be property disputes, not disputes on the services quality. A claim of a financial services consumer must not exceed RUR 500K ($7.4K), otherwise it is to be reviewed by a court.

Financial ombudsman is independent of all authorities, including even the Central Bank which suggests a candidate to be approved by the president. Financial ombudsman is appointed for a five-year term and can not hold office for more than three terms. At the moment, the position is held by Yuri Voronin, former advisor to the Central Bank chairman.

Financial ombudsman and his staff will first of all deal with disputes involving third-party liability cover, as the law now applies only to insurance companies. Since 2020, ombudsman will be able to deal with disputes involving microlenders, and since 2021 with disputes involving banks, pension funds and pawnshops.

It is noteworthy the position of financial ombudsman was previously held by economist and politician Pavel Medvedev.

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