Since the Financial Services Act (FinSA) came into force on 1st January 2020, 8 commercial mediation bodies (or “offices”) for financial services (or “FinSA Ombudsman Offices”) have joined the Swiss Banking Ombudsman (set up in 1993), the Private Insurance and SUVA Ombudsman (set up in 1972), and the Health Insurance Ombudsman (set up in 1993) in the Swiss financial sector.
A higher number of mediation bodies can be seen for financial services than for banking services and insurance contracts. However, according to the public activity reports of the various bodies, the rate of complaints regarding banking services and insurance contracts is higher than the rate regarding financial services.
FINSOM calls for reflection at federal level on commercial mediation in the Swiss financial sector, in the interests of clients and professionals. For more information, see this excerpt from FINSOM’s 2023 Activity Report.