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FSA ‘dissatisfied’ with Money Advice Service accountability
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) board has expressed concerns about the accountability of the Money Advice Service (MAS).
Minutes of the board’s June meeting show the issue was raised when discussing FSA chairman Lord Turner’s recent (20 June) appearance before the Treasury Select Committee (TSC).
“The Board continued to be dissatisfied with the accountability arrangements and requested that this be discussed at the July Board,” the minutes recount.
During the meeting, it was also agreed that the chair and CEO of the MAS, Gerard Lemos and Tony Hobman respectively, would attend the July meeting of the board.
Once it had received the MAS’s annual report assessing the service’s achievements against specified performance measures, it said it would then “provide [an] appropriate challenge” to the pair.
The MAS came under severe criticism during the recent TSC hearings, during which one MP described it as a ‘playground bully’.
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MPs also questioned the lack of detail in the service’s annual plans, while Hoban’s remuneration package came under scrutiny.
Embattled CEO Hobman has since announced his resignation from the organisation, which is aiming to find a successor by the autumn.
Launched in April 2011, the Money Advice Service is tasked with providing free and independent information to help consumers needing practical money advice, funded by FSA levy-payers, including financial advisers
It also has a separate debt advice coordination remit, although this is largely funded by lenders.