Creating a Culture of Support in the Financial Services Industry

Pinsent Masons recently published a report ‘Creating a Culture of Support in the Financial Services Industry’, produced in collaboration with a number of key stakeholders in the financial services industry, including financial institutions, fintechs and third sector organisations, to explore this important topic in more detail.

As part of the report, Pinsent Masons commissioned a consumer survey to obtain insight into the role individuals see their bank playing in helping to support them if they are affected by a mental health condition.  Their findings show that consumers are very much in favour of banks taking a proactive approach in helping consumers to manage their money, for example by implementing spending controls or notifying the consumer if an abnormal spending pattern is identified.

One of the key areas of focus for the FCA is ensuring that consumers with mental health issues are treated fairly and the report looks at the FCA’s approach, the legal issues associated with banks and other financial services institutions being proactively involved in supporting consumers, what the industry is doing to support consumers with mental health issues and how the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the need for additional support to be offered to consumers.

‘Creating a Culture of Support in the Financial Services Industry’ highlights the positive steps already taken by the financial services industry to ensure that consumers with metal health issues have access to the support they need and shows that that there is a huge opportunity for collaboration between industry players to offer even better solutions for consumers in the future.

A copy of the report is available here.