I am very pleased to welcome you to ombudsman news which, each month, focuses on news from one of our three case-handling divisions. In January it was insurance and in February, investment. This month brings you news from our banking and loans division, headed by principal ombudsman, David Thomas.

ombudsman news is aimed primarily at firms and professional advisers in the relevant areas of financial services, and at consumer advice agencies, but it may also be of more general interest. We hope it will prove a helpful source of information about our activities and that it will assist firms in their own complaint-handling. We are well on the way in preparing for the new regime that will start when the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 comes into force.

We expect this to be by the end of November 2001, at the latest. The new single set of rules under which we are to operate is now available and if you would like to find out more about the rules, and how they will affect your firm, please contact our technical advice desk. Details are on the back cover.

One of our tasks is to secure a consistent outcome for similar complaints and, as part of this process, we launch an important consultation on assessing compensation for mortgage underfunding. We welcome your views on this. So as not to delay unnecessarily the cases already being considered by us and by firms, please send your response to reach us by 1 May 2001 at the latest.