FINANCIAL OMBUDSMAN: EUROPEAN MODELS OF FUNCTIONING AND IMPLEMENTATION IN UKRAINE

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the features of the financial ombudsman institution. The thoughts of various scholars on the definition of financial ombudsman were disclosed. It focuses attention on the fact that in the European Union, the effective functioning of the mechanism for out-of-court settlement of disputes between financial institutions and consumers of their services is ensured in compliance with either certain legislative acts or relevant documents of a recommendatory nature. The two models of the functioning of the institution of financial ombudsman were outlined and the features of each of them were considered. In the study of the German model of the institution of financial ombudsman, its main advantages were emphasized. Namely, such a system is characterized by short-term resolution of out-of-court disputes between financial institutions and consumers of their services, as well as the convenience of resolving disputes over small amounts. Such out-of-court settlement of financial disputes benefits not only financial institutions and their clients, but also the entire judiciary. The questions about the introduction of the institution of financial ombudsman in Ukraine on the path to European integration were considered. In particular, some provisions of the Ukrainian draft law “On the establishment of a financial ombudsman”, aimed at further legislative consolidation of the legal status of a financial ombudsman and the specifics of such activities, were also considered. The feasibility of introducing the institution of financial ombudsman in Ukraine as an effective mechanism for out-of-court settlement of disputes between financial institutions and clients was determined. In the results of the study, which formed the country, taking into account the positive experience of European countries in developing standards of a civilized market, the functioning of the institution of financial ombudsman in Ukraine can help increase the level of consumer confidence in financial services in financial institutions. A new independent and impartial institution of financial ombudsman can be an effective system in resolving disputes between financial institutions and their clients by peaceful means, which will relieve the work of the courts in handling such disputes.