Financial Services

This article is written for public benefits. If you read this article, it will give you a clear idea about Mis Sold PPI.

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Payment Protection Insurance,Mis Sold PPI – A Very Controversial Subject in UK Articles otherwise known as PPI, has been a very controversial subject for a number of years now. The mis selling of PPI by numerous financial institutions, including most of the major banks and building societies in the UK, has resulted in one of the biggest financial selling scandals for many years. You may have heard on the news or read in the papers about the recent High Court Judicial Review relating to mis sold PPI, where the banks were trying to get out of adhering to the guidelines stipulated by the Financial Services Authority (‘the FSA’) which had ordered the guilty financial institutions to pro-actively review their customer records and contact any and all customers who may have been mis sold PPI, even if that customer had not yet registered a PPI claim.They of course lost the challenge and the fact that they had the gall to make such a challenge has thrown a further dark cloud over the ethics of the UK financial services industry. They simply want to draw out their responsibility to correct the damage they have clearly caused by the mis sale of PPI over many years and to millions of customers. The bill that the banks are likely to have to deal with is expected to total many billions of pounds. So, what exactly is PPI and how is mis sold PPI classified? And more to the point, how do you make mis sold PPI claims if you think you suspect this has happened to you?Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) was supposedly designed to protect those who had taken out loans (or any form of credit) and were unable to continue to make the payments as a result of accident, injury, illness or involuntary unemployment. On the face of it, PPI sounds like a very responsible insurance to be sold to credit customers. However it has been scandalously mis sold by nearly all major lending institutions for many years resulting in this huge scandal which the banks now have to deal with to repay the damage caused to their many innocent victims.There are numerous ways in which PPI was deemed to have been Mis Sold PPI. Many lenders gave the impression that it was compulsory, part of the loan, and did not really give the customer the opportunity to decide whether they wanted it or not. In other cases, a PPI policy may have been sold which does not cover the full term of the loan, rendering it potentially useless to the customer. Other customers may have simply had PPI added to their loan without even being aware of it, so they did not even know at the time of taking out the loan that PPI was included at all.Many thousands of people have been affected by this ugly financial selling scandal, but if you suspect you or someone close to you may have been affected and been a victim of this mis selling at any point then you should take action now so that you can claim the compensation you deserve. If you have taken out a loan or credit of any sort over the last 10 years it is worth checking through your paperwork. You may not even know that you had PPI – and if you did not then you certainly have the basis of a claim simply for that reason.There are various options you have if you think you may have the basis of a valid PPI claim. However, the most important thing you must do is ‘take action’, and do it soon. There will only be a certain window of time open to make PPI claims, and you will be expected to put your claim forward within this time window.You could try and handle the claim yourself and there are set letters and advice you can find online to do just this. But, after everything they have done, can you trust the banks (or ‘lender’) to tell you the truth? If they come back to you and deny that you have a valid claim, do you trust that this is 100% true? What if they accept they did mis sell PPI and make you an offer of compensation? How do you know the offer is the maximum amount you have the right to claim? What if the case is referred to the financial Ombudsman, would you know how to deal with the matter in this instance?The bottom line is that although you could process your own PPI claim, you take a risk. The prudent choice is putting the matter in the hands of professionals. There are various professional PPI Claims companies operating across the UK who specialise in dealing with banks (and other ‘lenders’) and processing PPI claims on a daily basis. They know when a claim is valid and they know how to force the banks into paying the maximum amount of PPI claim compensation due to you. They can take care of the entire work for you, keeping you up to date, and many of them will not charge you a penny unless they successfully gain a compensation payment for you. They operate on a no win, no fee basis.

Providing financial services in Indian rural areas is a huge challenge. In this article, it is going to discuss the appropriate system and possible strategy for that.

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Rural finance comprises credit,Challenges in Developing an Inclusive Rural Financial System in India Articles savings and insurance (or insurance substitutes) includes agree cultural finance and microfinance in rural areas, whether provided through formal or informal mechanisms.

Providing financial services in rural areas is a challenge as agriculture and other rural economic activities have unique characteristics of dependence on natural resources, long production cycles and vulnerability to multiple risks (all of us remember the old adage “Indian agriculture is a gamble in monsoon”). Further, the sub-division of land and small ticket size of rural non-farm activities require the provision of small sized loans in large numbers often raising the operational costs for banks. Moreover, with the widening of the ambit of non-agricultural activities, the need for non-agricultural rural finance too has gone up considerably. While poorer groups might need basic savings services and micro-credit to cover production costs and emergency expenses, farmers and farmers’ organisations require larger amounts of credit to finance production, inputs, processing and marketing besides risk mitigation products, for example, insurance for loss of life and assets. The new rural finance paradigm needs to be based on the premise that ‘rural people are bankable’ and rural clientele is not limited only to the farmers & uneducated but also includes a generation which can use & adopt technology. It, in turn, advocates a demand-driven design and efficient provision of multiple financial products and services through an inclusive financial sector comprising sustainable institutions serving a diverse rural clientele.

Thus, developing an inclusive yet sustainable rural financial system is extremely challenging and involves comprehensive understanding of host of complementary issues, which I would like to subsume under a broad 7Ps’ Framework:

· Product strategy: For catering to the varied needs of small ticket size transactions, whether a bouquet of diversified products and services can be developed without compromising on the flexibility, continuous availability and convenience of the products? Which types of financial products have the greatest impact on reducing poverty and lifting growth rates in deprived districts and regions?

· Processes: What kinds of business processes can help banks to reach underserved segments and provide hassle-free near doorstep service to the customers without jeopardising financial viability? How do we design an efficient hub & spoke model to overcome the hurdles in the agent led branchless banking?

· Partnerships: What are the constraints faced by the underserved and/or excluded segments in accessing financial services from different types of service providers? Are the bank – non-bank partnerships, such as, Business Correspondents, SHGs, MFIs, etc. working efficiently in easing the accessibility and availability of financial services?

· Protection: What measures and mechanisms are needed to protect both the providers and the receivers of rural finance from abuse and misuse of such services? Whether enough risks mitigants are there for the borrowers given the higher vulnerability in the sector? Are lenders protected against ebb & flow of uncertainty in credit culture?

· Profitability: Whether the business strategies and delivery models are geared to provide affordable and acceptable services to the rural clientele while ensuring that rural finance service providers function profitably on a sustained basis? How do we tap into the customer willingness to pay through an appropriate pricing model?

· Productivity: How do we increase the productivity of financial services provided in the rural areas? What are the strategies needed to synergize other resources with finance (say, under a “credit plus” approach) to ensure more productive and optimal use of financial services?

· People: Are the frontline staff of the financial service providers well-equipped to meet the needs of driving the process of financial inclusion in terms of knowledge, skill and attitude? Do these people have the capacity, comprehension and commitment to identify potential customers and offer them timely advice and comprehensive services?

Many of these are the age-old questions which unfortunately remain pertinent even today and pose a significant challenge to the policy-makers and regulators. Having spoken about the challenges, let me outline some of the developments that have taken place in recent times in rural finance space with specific reference to the three sub-themes of this seminar and highlight some of the critical issues related to these sub-themes.

UAE offers innumerable opportunities for foreign companies to trade in forex, CFD and binary options. Being one of the pertinent financial centers in the Middle East, Dubai and the other Emirates of UAE serve as a base for many forex traders or brokers and other online trading activities.

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Securities Commodities Authority (SCA) of UAE is the regulatory authority for governing all non-banking financial activities including but not limited to forex trading,Is Forex Trading Legal In UAE? Articles CFD and other online activities. SCA’s primary objective is to enhance the capital market and stimulate the economic growth of the UAE. They are attracting foreign investments by offering a steady channel and environment to invest in forex. Besides, Central Bank of UAE also regulates all forex brokers, whereas SCA issues the licenses.

In parallel with SCA, UAE also has two financial free zones namely Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) in the Emirate of Dubai and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) in Abu Dhabi offering activities of Forex Trading, CFD and other online non-banking financial trading. Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) in DIFC is an authority explicitly established to regulate forex brokers or companies performing non-banking financial activities incorporated in DIFC.

It is undoubtedly legal to trade in forex through local brokers regulated by SCA, Central Bank or other regulatory authorities. Pertinently, any natural or legal person willing to offer such non-banking financial services within UAE must establish an entity in the country either in the mainland or in any financial free zone as referred above, in accordance with the laws and regulations of the country. UAE strictly prohibits any entity dealing in forex or another online trading without having a proper license in UAE, obtained through appropriate channels. This is in accordance with Article 6 of the Law number 13 of 2011 regulating Economic Activities in the Emirate of Dubai and Article 328 of the Federal Law Number 2 of 2015 concerning the Commercial Companies Law which confirms that any foreign company cannot conduct activities within UAE without obtaining a proper license. Ergo, the company to provide Forex and CFD services in UAE must primarily obtain a permit from either SCA, DIFC, ADGM or any other regulated free zone offering such activities.

Accessible Alternatives

UAE offers a variety of business registrations for foreign investors willing to register for forex trading. Considering it is a regulated activity in UAE, obtaining a license from any free zone would not suffice your purpose. Below are the most prominent regulated options for establishing a forex trading company in UAE:

Option-A (UAE Mainland Company)

As afore-mentioned, a forex trading license can be obtained by setting up a mainland company in UAE. Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai and in other respective Emirates is the authority issuing licenses for all sorts of companies in the mainland. Following are the business activities offered by Dubai mainland for forex trading and other online trading:

Foreign Shares and Bond Brokers;
Foreign Securities Promotion;
Remittance of local and foreign currencies;
Brokerage in commodities listed in foreign markets;
Brokerage in securities listed in foreign markets.
Nevertheless, the license for a mainland company mandates the foreign investor to have a partnership with a UAE national who shall hold a minimum 51% shareholding in the company, however, this shareholding may vary depending upon the type of the company. In furtherance, unlike free zones Company, UAE mainland companies are privileged to access UAE markets and all customers freely.

Along with the license from DED, the investor is required to obtain subsequent approval from SCA, whereas the company and its services will be regulated by the Central Bank of UAE.Option-B (Free-Zone Company)

Mandatory requirement of partnership with UAE local sponsor is what majorly differentiates a mainland company from a free zone entity. Accordingly, two significant free zones offer licenses for forex trading that is DIFC and ADGM as they are categorized a financial free zone by the government of UAE. Nonetheless, the trading companies established in free zones are restricted to approach the local market for trading directly. In addition, these financial free zones have their own rules and regulations and even regulatory authorities governing non-banking financial services providers.

DIFC (Dubai International Financial Centre)
Operated through an independent regulatory authority and having its own legal system is what differentiate DIFC with other free zones in UAE. Service providers in DIFC will be governed by the DFSA (Dubai Financial Services Authority). DIFC offers a wide range of activities to foreign investors with 100% ownership and 0% taxation allures foreign investors to establish their presence in DIFC.

ADGM (Abu Dhabi Global Market)
In similar lines with DIFC, ADGM is the financial free zone in Abu Dhabi having almost similar characteristics and provisions as compared to DIFC. ADGM FSRA (Financial Services Regulatory Authority) regulates all non-banking regulated activities for online trading.

Option-C (Representative Offices)

Lastly the company can opt for registering a representative office in any of the free zone available, wherein the most common and affordable for such activity is DMCC (Dubai Multi-Commodity Centre). This option is best suited for those who would require presence in Dubai without explicitly applying for Forex Trading License. It is further pertinent to note that the holding company shall be undertaking similar activity in other country in order to obtain license for representative office.

Majorly, DMCC offers two types of activities in forex trading as follows:

Trading in Forex, OTC and Exchange Traded Derivatives– explicitly involving in activities based on trading in own money in Forex or OTC with counterparties regulated by authorities approved by DMCC.
Trading in the proprietary account on regulated exchanges: involving companies dealing with trading in their own money in Forex or OTC on account of regulated exchanges.