FSCL appoints personal finance journalist Mary Holm to board

FSCL appoints personal finance journalist Mary Holm to its board

Award-winning personal finance journalist and author Mary Holm will join the board of disputes resolution service Financial Services Complaints Limited (FSCL) from 1 October.

FSCL Chairman Kenneth Johnston QC said Ms Holm’s extensive knowledge of the personal finance sector and insight into consumer issues would be a valuable addition to the board.

“Mary will provide a strong consumer voice in her role as consumer director, and will bring expertise and governance experience that will add value to the services FSCL provides participants and their customers.”

Ms Holm, who is also a director of the Financial Markets Authority, writes a personal finance column in the Weekend Herald, presents a financial segment on RNZ, and is a best-selling author and seminar presenter on personal finance. She has been the business editor of the Auckland Sun and Auckland Star, and a member of the Capital Markets Development Task Force and the Savings Working Group. She holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago.

“Throughout my time as a financial journalist I’ve heard distressing stories of people being treated badly by financial providers. I welcome the opportunity to help Raewyn Fox represent such people on the FSCL board,” said Ms Holm.

The FSCL Board is made up of an independent Chair, two industry representatives (Roger Kerr and Gary Young) and two consumer representatives (Raewyn Fox and Mary Holm). Ms Holm replaces Bruce Cronin who retires as a director at the end of September.

Background

FSCL is an independent not-for-profit external dispute resolution scheme approved by the Minister for Consumer Affairs under the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act 2008. It was the first scheme to be approved and has been designed for and in consultation with the financial services industry on the principles of efficiency and effectiveness.

FSCL provides dispute resolution services to participating financial service providers and their clients. The FSCL process focuses on resolving complaints through conciliation and assisted negotiation and is also able to make formal determinations which are binding on financial service providers. For more information visit www.fscl.org.nz

The other dispute resolution schemes in the financial services industry are the Banking Ombudsman, the Insurance and Financial Services Ombudsman and Financial Dispute Resolution. For more information about the financial services disputes resolution regime visit www.consumeraffairs.govt.nz/report-or-resolve-a-problem/banking-finance-and-insurance/banking-finance-and-insurance/

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