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15 february 2021, 15:15
Chief Financial Ombudsman Yury Voronin decided to set up the FOS Public Council (FOS – Financial Ombudsman Service), whose first meeting was held on February 15 via video conferencing.
The Public Council is to act as a permanent advisory and consultative body and is to complement the two other collegial bodies established in accordance with the Federal Law «On the Ombudsman for the Rights of Consumers of Financial Services» – the FOS Council and the FOS Expert Council.
More than 20 persons have expressed their desire to join the FOS Public Council, in which participation is on a pro bono basis. Among them are journalists from federal and branch editions, representatives of state bodies and governmental departments, heads of large public organizations in the sphere of protection of consumer rights, including international ones, members of scientific and expert communities, etc. The list of members of the Public Council will be available on the FOS website.
During the opening session, Igor Divinsky, First Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Financial Market of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, was elected Chairman of the Public Council on the proposal of Chief Financial Ombudsman Yury Voronin. Besides, some organizational issues of the Public Council were discussed at the last meeting, as well as some aspects of the FOS activities in 2020 and topical issues of law enforcement during the FOS consideration of appeals from consumers of financial services.
«It is not obligatory for the FOS to set up the Public Council, but we regarded it as extremely important, as such a body is sure to represent interests of consumers of financial services. That is why certain issues related to out-of-court resolution of disputes between consumers of financial services are to be considered by the Public Council before being submitted to the FOS Council. This multi-stakeholder approach is bound to improve the efficiency of the out-of-court resolution system, including by taking into account the consumers’ opinions represented by a wide range of civil society institutions,» Chief Financial Ombudsman Yury Voronin says.
