On 8 January 2024, the Financial Industry Disputes Resolution Centre Ltd (‘FIDReC’) issued a public consultation paper on proposed changes to its Terms of Reference as follows:
a. The increase of the award limit from $100,000 to $150,000.
b. Including small businesses as eligible complainants.
c. Allowing the circulation of the Grounds of Decision.
d. Fixing timelines for process completion.
e. A Mediator’s Indication process for non-NIMA disputes.
f. Amendments to the list of Excepted Complaints.
g. Timelines to refer to business days instead of calendar days.
The proposed changes were meant to better reflect the current landscape, especially the nature of financial disputes that have evolved over the years. They also allowed FIDReC to address feedback it had received over time and incorporate international best practices.
The consultation closed on 29 February 2024 and FIDReC received 55 responses from 34 Financial Institutions, 13 individuals, 3 financial industry associations and 4 other associations. There was 1 anonymous response. FIDReC thanks all the respondents for their feedback. A list of the respondents may be found in Annex A.
The feedback received is summarised below along with FIDReC’s response.