Personal Finance Society (PFS) interim chief executive Don MacIntyre has emphasised that the Chartered Insurance Institute’s (CII) controversial takeover is “clearly doing damage” to both bodies, while members have said they have “significant concerns” about the move.
He also believes a negotiated settlement is possible and threw down the gauntlet to members to make their voices heard by extending the deadline for feedback on the CII’s takeover.
Following a PFS board meeting, MacIntyre issued a statement extending the PFS consultation until the 27 January to enable more members to be heard and he continued to urge all PFS members to make their views, insights and concerns clear through the survey or by contacting him directly.
The consultation was launched following the CII’s controversial takeover the PFS board last month and the fallout, which has left both bodies making claims and counter-claims against each other.
It has also led to senior leaders within the PFS departing while others have called for the bodies to be fully separated.
MacIntyre confirmed that nearly 800 of its members were registered, which he said reflected their “strength of feeling and passion for the PFS and this challenging situation”.
He added that since the CII’s action in December, it has been vital for himself and the PFS board to ensure members’ voices are heard, noting that almost 2,000 members had written to him voicing “significant concerns” about the CII’s move.
The more members I hear from, the stronger the message I can relay for the PFS to the PFS and CII boards on your behalf, MacIntyre said.
“My priority in the weeks and months ahead is to bring stability back to the PFS and develop and deliver a plan to move past this period of turbulence,” MacIntyre continued.
“The risks and challenges arising from the decision to act by the CII and the subsequent situation is not in the best interests of the PFS. This impasse has to stop as it is clearly doing damage to both the PFS and CII.
“I and the PFS board have the organisation and its members’ interests at its heart. I want to sit down with the CII, to negotiate, consider the impact for both organisations and reach a compromise that finds a solution, having heard what members have to say.
“Ultimately, I believe there is a solution that can still be found and our members would expect nothing less than for us to do all we can to reach it.”