Bank employment figures have shot up in the first three months of 2012 to deal with the massive increase in PPI compensation claims, a survey has revealed.
Specialist financial services recruitment firm BrightPool, has revealed that a total of 60 per cent of claim handlers in demand by high street banks were to deal with mis sold Payment Protection Insurance claims in PPI compensation scheme departments. BrightPool also said that 46 percent of those hired as project managers were to work in divisions trying to cope with the influx of missold PPI claims, which have significantly increased in recent months.
Angela Hickmore, managing director of BrightPool, said:
“Financial institutions have learnt from the difficulties faced at the time of the endowment [mis-selling] scandals and this time are reacting quickly to ensure they can manage the high volumes of [PPI] claims expected for the rest of the year.”
PPI, an insurance sold alongside credit cards and loans to cover payments if the consumer fell ill or lost their job, was widely mis-sold by a range of banks and lenders who often failed to check if the policy was appropriate.
Thousands of consumers across the country have been affected by the scandal, which has cost the banks millions of pounds in compensation. In total, the banks and insurers are expecting to pay out £8.6 billion in PPI payments, including £3.2 billion at Lloyds Banking Group and around £850 million at Royal Bank of Scotland.
This follows official data released by the FSA which shows that PPI complaints have reached record highs, with a rise of 85% in the final months of 2011. There is still a further 12 million customers still able to make a PPI claim, with a total of 10.8 million people who could be entitled to a payout. With PPI complaints continuing to rise, the banks have now had to hire in additional staff to cope with the increased claim workload.