Institute of financial ombudsman: European models of functioning and introduction 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. 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.