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Financial Services Strategy

7 April 2009

Since autumn 2007, the financial services sector has been in crisis both in the UK and across the globe. The immediate impact of the current crisis has been to restrict consumers' and businesses' access to credit, to increase levels of indebtedness and to reduce the range of financial products offered. It has also led to significant Government interventions in the sector.
 
Given the scale of the crisis in the financial services sector, its impact on the wider economy and the measures taken by government to stabilise it, we are reviewing our approach to work in this sector. Much of the OFT’s work is already aligned with the needs of the current crisis but we will sharpen our focus over the coming year. We are asking interested parties to comment on our proposal to concentrate on two inter-related themes:

  • To promote fairness and responsibility in the relationship between the credit industry (including banks and debt businesses) and their customers to deal with the immediate issues facing consumers.
  • To play a strong role as an advocate of choice and competition in the UK and internationally, to ensure that as public decisions are necessarily made to deal with the current crisis, they do not harm competition over the long term and thus reduce the future growth of the UK economy.

Download Financial Services Strategy - a consultation document (pdf 253 kb).

The consultation closes on 12 June 2009. It is intended to give stakeholders the opportunity to provide views and comments on OFT's Financial Services Strategy, which will feed into a final plan.

Responding to this consultation

All responses and comments should be sent to:

Debbie Samosa,
4C, Markets and Projects - Services
Office of Fair Trading
Fleetbank House
2-6 Salisbury Square
London EC4Y 8JX
Email: debbie.samosa@oft.gsi.gov.uk
Telephone: 020 7211 8141

Closing date for comments: 12 June 2009




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