New members appointed to Consumer Panel

FSA Chairman Callum McCarthy said:

"I am very pleased that Carol and Tony are joining the Panel. They and the other members will ensure that the Panel continues to act as the strong, independent consumer voice which is so important to the FSA."

Biographies: Carol Stewart is a generalist adviser with Citizens Advice following her early retirement from UBS, where she had been an executive director in Legal and Compliance.

Tony Hetherington has been a financial journalist since 1982. His weekly column responding to readers letters on financial matters appears in the Mail on Sunday. He also writes a syndicated weekly advice column which appears in local and regional newspapers.

Notes for editors

1. The full membership of the Consumer Panel from 1 June 2004 is Ann Foster, Dianne Hayter, Yvonne Gallacher, Harriet Hall, John Howard, Vinod Kumar, Stephen Locke, Nick Pearson, Adam Phillips, Paul Salvidge, Robert Skinner, Richard Smethurst, Carol Stewart and Dave Watts. Biographical details can be found on the Panels website.

2. The Financial Services and Markets Act requires the FSA to establish a panel of persons to represent consumers as part of the arrangements it must make for consulting consumers on its general policies and practices. The Financial Services Consumer Panel was established by the FSA in December 1998, ahead of this legislation.

3. The Consumer Panel receives an annual budget and staff support from the FSA but is independent of the FSA in its views

4. The FSA regulates the financial services industry and has four objectives under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000: maintaining market confidence; promoting public understanding of the financial system; securing the appropriate degree of protection of consumers; and fighting financial crime.

5. The FSA aims to maintain efficient, orderly and clean financial markets and help retail consumers achieve a fair deal.