LONDON (Reuters) -The chair of Britain’s Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), Zahida Manzoor, will step down at the end of her term later this year, the complaints-handling body said on Monday.
News of her departure comes days after Abby Thomas stepped down from her role as FOS chief executive and chief ombudsman.
The FOS tackles complaints that customers of financial services firms are unable to settle directly with a company.
Manzoor will step down after serving two terms of office when her current term ends on August 1, she said in a statement.
“There is still more to do,” Manzoor said. “There must be greater use of technology to implement new ways of working and a greater emphasis on ensuring both the Financial Ombudsman Service and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) continue to act effectively.”
Finance minister Rachel Reeves has in recent weeks stepped up pressure on regulators and public bodies to ease the burden on businesses in order to boost economic growth.
She has called for the FOS to be reformed in order to create a better climate for investment and urged the service and the FCA to improve how they handled “historic market practice and mass redress events”.
The FOS has been handling thousands of complaints related to the mis-selling of car loans, a landmark case in which Reeves has also intervened in a bid to shield lenders from a potential multi-billion pound payout to customers.
(Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar; Additional reporting by Kirstin Ridley; editing by William James)
