Treasury committee report gives impetus to ‘duty of care’

On 13 May, the Treasury Committee published its report on consumers’ access to financial services. Its recommendations on basic current accounts, discriminatory pricing and potentially shared service branches could have a significant impact on firms. Moreover, it reiterated the arguments for a legal duty of care owed to customers and asked the regulator to conclude its consultation with a timetable published this Autumn. Caroline Stevenson examines the key messages from the report.

Caroline Stevenson (caroline.stevenson@wbd-uk.com) is legal director for banking and financial services at Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) LLP, where Alex Louch (alex.louch@wbd-uk.com) is a trainee in the same department.

The Treasury Committee report urges financial services providers, the Government and financial regulators to ensure that financial inclusion is a key priority in order to maintain a financial services system that does not leave large parts of society behind. The report sets out a number of recommendations directed at the Financial Conduct Authority, the Payment Systems Regulator, the Government and all those in the financial services industry.