'Guilty until proven otherwise' culture at FOS risks adviser confidence

In Bawa's recent open letter to secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds MP, he described the FOS as a "regulatory bottleneck" for advice firms and urged the government to address what he sees as deep-rooted cultural issues within the ombudsman service. Bawa wrote in the letter: "There is definitely a problem in the way the FOS operates. It does operate as a quasi-regulator, which won't promote confidence or support growth in our industry." Agreeing with concerns flagged by Bawa, Heath warned that the FOS' current approach risks undermining adviser confidence and rendering the Financia...