Sharp Increase in Financial Complaints in First Half Due to 'Hong Kong ELS Incident'... Bank Complaints Up 66%

Financial Complaints in First Half of This Year Up 16.0% YoY to 56,275 Cases
Bank Complaints at 14,080 Cases... Significant Increase in Fund and Trust Types
Financial Complaint Handling Volume and Acceptance Rate Increase by Only 2%
Dispute Complaint Processing Period Sharply Reduced to '24.1 Days'

Financial complaints received by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) in the first half of this year increased by 16.0% compared to last year. This surge was mainly due to a more than 65% increase in bank-related complaints following the Hong Kong H-Share Index (Hang Seng China Enterprises Index·HSCEI) equity-linked securities (ELS) incident. Meanwhile, the number of processed financial complaints and the acceptance rate only rose by around 2%.

According to the FSS on the 12th, the number of financial complaints received from the beginning of this year until June totaled 56,275, up 16.0% (7,769 cases) from 48,506 during the same period last year. Complaints in sectors such as banks (5,594 cases), non-life insurance (1,802 cases), and small and low-income households (1,111 cases) increased, while complaints in life insurance (-582 cases) and financial investment (-156 cases) sectors decreased.

Bank complaints surged by 65.9% year-on-year to 14,080 cases due to the Hong Kong H-Share Index ELS incident. Fund and trust complaint types, which were only 74 and 56 cases respectively last year, sharply increased to 3,918 and 2,312 cases due to the same incident, driving up the total number of complaints. Complaints from small and low-income households also rose by 10.4% compared to last year, driven by increased complaints related to credit card companies and credit information companies. Complaints against credit card companies increased by 7.2% to 5,491 cases, and those against credit information companies rose by 18.8% to 1,485 cases.

The number of life insurance complaints decreased by 8.1% compared to last year, as complaints related to insurance solicitation and insurance claim calculation and payment declined. On the other hand, non-life insurance complaints increased by 10.1% during the same period, due to a rise in complaints about insurance claim calculation and payment, contract establishment, and cancellation. Among life insurance complaints, the largest category was insurance solicitation (42.0%), while in non-life insurance, complaints about insurance claim calculation and payment (55.3%) accounted for more than half.

Financial investment complaints decreased by 3.7% compared to last year, as complaints against securities firms and investment advisory firms declined. By industry, complaints against securities firms fell by 2.8%, and those against investment advisory firms dropped by 23.9%.

Number of Processed Complaints and Acceptance Rate Increase by Only Around 2%

Although financial complaints, especially bank-related ones, increased significantly, the number of processed complaints and the acceptance rate only rose by around 2%. In the first half of this year, the total number of processed financial complaints was 49,941, a 2.1% increase from last year. The complaint acceptance rate was 37.2%, up 2.3 percentage points from last year. The acceptance rate for general complaints was 33.5%, up 2.3 percentage points, and for dispute complaints, it was 44.5%, up 4.2 percentage points.

However, the complaint processing period significantly shortened, especially for dispute complaints, decreasing by 13.6 days compared to last year to 35.3 days. The processing period for general complaints decreased by 0.4 days to 13.5 days, and for dispute complaints, it dropped by 24.1 days to 79.8 days. The FSS explained that this was the result of actively implementing efficiency measures such as focused processing by complaint type, on-site investigations, and standardization of response letters.

Park Kwan-woo, team leader of the Financial Complaints Division, stated, "We will strengthen efforts to improve complaint handling efficiency, including resolving backlog complaints and shortening processing times, as well as enhance efforts to prevent consumer damage and provide relief." He added, "Regarding the sharp increase in complaints about the calculation and payment of indemnity insurance claims, we will continuously provide consumers with guidance on precautions to help prevent consumer harm."