2nd July ‘08 - FISA Comment on Competition Commission’s Secured Loan PPI Findings
The Finance Standards Industry Association (FISA), the self-regulation body of the secured loans industry, has commented on the Competition Commissions findings over controversies related to the Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) market.
John Parker, FISA's chief executive, commented, "There is much in the provisional findings from the Commission that FISA is supportive of, however, we believe that a number of the remedies outlined will have a negative impact on product choice, policy cover and borrower protection in the secured loan sector."
One Competition Commission recomendation FISA disagreed with was the idea that PPI should not be sold at the point of sale. Parker said that point of sale PPI made sense for consumers taking out secured loans because it allows them to make "an integrated decision".
He added, "Separating the point at which advice could be given about the loan and the PPI would appear to run counter to the FISA's Treating Customers Fairly initiative which ensures the consumer's specific circumstances are taken into account when they are receiving advice. In FISA's view the CCA provisions specific to secured loans, which provide for two consecutive, seven-day consideration periods, and those under ICOB, which allow for a 30-day period during which the policy can be cancelled, provide sufficient safeguards for the borrower."