An FSA report showed combined complaints against Coutts and Towry breached the 2,000 mark in the second half of 2010.
The study also showed leading banks Barclays, Santander UK and Lloyds TSB accounted for a collective 460,014 complaints reported to the regulator during the second half of 2010. According to the data, complaints opened against the country’s stalwart lenders hit six figures last year, when complaints at the firm level between 1 July 2010 and 31 December were gathered and analysed.
Complaints against Coutts & Co’s banking division reached 748, the FSA revealed, adding that a further 54 relating to Coutts’ investments, 24 relating to home finance and 8 linked to its general insurance, protection, decumulation and life and pensions were also received and looked into by the firm. Within each category, at least 67% of the complaints were upheld at a firm level, the FSA said.
Towry EJ received 1,284 complaints relating to investments, the bulk of which, 97%, were upheld.
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which owns private bank Coutts, also suffered a string of complaints over the same stretch.
The FSA said more than 30,000 complaints were received from disgruntled clients, with 167 of these relating to investments and a total of 30,218 in respect of banking.
The Bank of Scotland received in the region of 62,371 complaints, and HSBC were hit with 58,392, according to the FSA figures. Of these complaints relating to the firms’ banking arms, a respective 39% and 32% were upheld at a firm level.
Source : Reuters
