The reduction in Legal & General’s (L&G’s) FSA-imposed £1.1m fine to £575k might sound like a vindication for Legal & General. When looked at more closely, the further decision by the Financial Services and Markets Tribunal (FSMT) seems to be more of a score-draw.
What was attention-grabbing about the tribunal’s decision in January was its criticism of the methods employed by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to conclude that systemic mis-selling of mortgage policies had taken place, which led to the FSA’s announcement of a review of its enforcement processes. However, the tribunal’s original decision also upheld the FSA’s criticisms of L&G’s procedures, albeit not to the extent alleged by the FSA.
