Financial services ombudsman returns close to €6.2m to consumers 

Last year, the agency also received a record number of complaints at over 7,000

Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman Liam Sloyan

Close to €6.2m was returned to consumers by the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO) after it closed more than 6,200 complaints throughout 2025, however, last year also saw a record high number of complaints received by the agency.

In total, the FSPO had 6,282 complaints closed during 2025 — a 6% increase com d to 2024 — the highest number ever closed by the office. The vast majority, 90%, of all complaints closed in 2025 were closed in the early-resolution and informal processes stage without requiring a formal investigation or a legally binding decision.

Of those complaints closed last year, 88% were completed in less than 12 months.

Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman Liam Sloyan said they have seen “real evidence in our daily work of how resolving complaints at an early stage results in positive outcomes for customers, and providers alike”.

“We have been focussing on increasing the number of complaints resolved through mediation, as early resolution of complaints benefits both the complainant and the provider.

"The success of this strategy has led to an increase in the number of complaints resolved and an increase in the cash value to consumers using mediation.” 

Of the money returned to consumers, just under €4.6m of that was through mediated settlements by the FSPO’s dispute resolution service, while €165,950 directed as compensation by the Ombudsman in legally binding decisions.

A further €511,140 was offered in settlements with complainants during the FSPO’s formal investigation process.

There was also €928,504 paid out to in redress from providers — this included €862,754 related to tracker mortgage interest rate related complaints.

Tracker mortgage complaints 

The FSPO said it continues to receive new complaints relating to tracker mortgages each year, but they are declining.

During 2025, it received 11 tracker mortgage-related complaints and closed a further 143. At the end of 2025, there were 600 tracker mortgage complaints remaining on hand.

Of the 115 tracker mortgage complaints where a legally binding decision was issued, 111 complaints resulted in a decision where the complaint was not upheld.

“I did not uphold 24 of these 111 complaints as I considered the redress and compensation already offered by the providers to be adequate and reasonable in the circumstances of the complaint,” Mr Sloyan said.

There were 7,004 complaints received from customers unhappy with the resolution of their complaint by their financial service provider or pension provider.

Over half, 54%, of all complaints related to banking while 31% of all complaints related to insurance. There were 525 investment complaints received and a further 276 related to pensions. The only segment to see a year-on-year decrease in the number of complaints received was pensions.

When it comes to banking, 1,297 complaints related to disputed transactions which is an increase of 28% year-on-year.

Mr Sloyan highlighted insurance complaints, which accounted for 2,142 received in 2025, as an area which has seen significant growth over the last few years.

“This is the third year in succession that we have seen a significant growth in the number of insurance complaints received, with the number increasing from 1,129 in 2022 to 2,142 in 2025, almost doubling in just three years. This level of increase should be of concern to the industry and I will engage with the sector on this matter,” he said.