A total of 16 firms paid out, representing 92% of PPI complaints received in the first half of 2011.
In May and June alone, following the dismissal of the banking industry’s legal challenge to the FSA and the Financial Ombudsman Service, £102m was paid out.
The monthly totals are:
- January – £29m
- February – £31m
- March – £28m
- April – £25m
- May – £37m
- June – £65m
The figures include the value of ex-gratia payments made to complainants and cases settled by the Ombudsman.
Margaret Cole, interim managing director of the FSA’s conduct business unit, said: “The treatment of PPI complainants has left an indelible stain on the financial industry’s record. By releasing these figures we’re providing a useful measure of firms’ progress that can be tracked on an ongoing basis.
“While the amount of redress paid in May and June is unsurprisingly large in the wake of the judicial review, looking ahead we expect the amounts to vary somewhat as firms clear their backlogs while dealing with complaints as well.
“We remain 100% committed to ensuring that where consumers were mis-sold PPI they will receive the appropriate redress from firms, and we are monitoring firms’ progress to ensure this is done properly. Where we find that this not to be the case, we are not afraid to take tough action.”
Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: “Over £200m in six months sounds like a lot, but when you compare it to the £7.4bn that the banks have set aside to cover PPI mis-selling, you can see that this is just the start.
“There’s no excuse for banks not to have cleared the backlog of complaints caused by the judicial review. Any firms that have not met the 31 August deadline should face tough enforcement action.
“The FSA should require banks to be more transparent about their complaint handling processes to show that they’re improving the way they handle customer disputes.”
