Introduction
Group meetings are excellent for networking and form the ‘engine room’ of TTF’s campaign activity. All meetings run on Zoom.
Please contact our Head of Events Alex Zitkus if you would like to join one of our group meetings – alex.zitkus@transparencytaskforce.org
The full list of groups is given below.
Click on any group of interest to access all details, including meeting dates and times:
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services Secretariat Committee
Ireland Matters
Justice for Victims of Banks
Justice for the Victims of Blackmore Bond
Justice for the Victims of the Building Societies Scandal
Justice for the Victims of FX Misconduct
Justice for the Victims of Woodford
Operation Optmise
RSA’s Responsible Finance for Good Network
Violation Tracker UK Advisory Board
1st Thursday of the month
3:00PM to 4:00PM UK time
2nd Wednesday of the month
3:00PM to 4:00PM UK time
1st Wednesday of the month
3:00PM to 4:00PM UK time
3rd Thursday of the month
3:00PM to 4:00PM UK time
Download “Why the UK needs Violation Tracker” here:
Violation Tracker – Why the UK Needs It
Watch this video about bringing Violation Tracker to the UK
Download a table of stakeholders already engaged with our “Bringing the Violation Tracker to the UK” project
Download a PDF of the Violation Tracker UK Comments of suppport
Violation Tracker UK Comments of Support as at 2nd February 2022
Download slides of the Launch of the Violation Tracker; and why that’s good news for our pensions sector
The Launch of the Violation Tracker;and why that’s good news for our pensions sector
Download a PDF of “New UK Enforcement Database reveals extent of corporate misconduct” – Thomson Reuters
New UK Enforcement Database Reveals Extent of Corporate Misconduct – Thomson Reuters
Article by Maggie Pagano published on 1st October
“Britain’s bankers to be put into the spotlight
with new Violation Tracker. But will it change behaviour?”
Every Wednesday
5:00PM to 6:00PM UK time
The Woodford Campaign Group is for investors that have lost money as a result of the Woodford scandal.
There has been much talk and many pages written about the Woodford scandal. It’s a scandal that centres around a rockstar fund manager’s fall from grace; a scandal that has led to life-changing financial losses that have shattered the lives of thousands of investors; a scandal that has rocked the investment world and the regulatory framework that’s supposed to govern it.
The purpose of the Woodford Campaign Group is to get full answers to 4 key questions:
#1 – What happened?
#2 – Who’s to blame for what happened?
#3 – How might the thousands of victims get the justice and compensation they deserve?
#4 – What changes are needed to help ensure that nothing like it ever happens again?
4th Tuesday of the month
3:00PM to 4:00PM UK time
3rd Thursday of the month
9:00AM to 10:AM UK time
The TTF provides the Secretariat for the APPG on Investment Fraud & Fairer Financial Services.
The Secretariat operates through a Secretariat Committee.
A separate website has been developed for the APPG on Investment Fraud & Fairer Financial Services; you can access it here.
3rd Tuesday of the month
3:00PM to 4:00PM UK time
Every Wednesday
1:00PM to 2:00PM UK time
(For people in Ireland only)
Our Regulators Watch and Scambusters Group is for those that want to scrutinise the activity and effectiveness of financial regulators, be they in the UK or elsewhere.
The Transparency Task Force is a “critical friend” to regulators. We see our value in helping to ensure financial regulators are aware of what more they could be doing to help protect the interests of consumers. We have always enjoyed a highly engaged working relationship with regulators. We see ourselves as being on their side (although it may not always seem that way to them), always thinking about what more can be done to become as effective as possible.
If ever we feel there is a need to be critical, we will be critical, but in a constructive way. When we identify what we see as shortcomings we will always seek to offer pragmatic solutions as well. We sincerely hope that our “critical friend” positioning with regulators will be welcomed by all that are keen to receive constructive, well-intended feedback.
This group will therefore appeal to individuals and organisations that want to play a part in constructively scrutinising regulatory activity. We are particularly interested in those that want to work with us to provide constructive, well-intended and Evidence-Based input that is designed to help protect the interest of consumers.
The group is likely to be especially useful to those that lead campaign groups that represent the interests of those that have been harmed by the financial services sector, especially if regulatory failure is recognised as having been part of the problem.
We will always be keen to work collaboratively with like-minded endeavours around the world, such as The Revolving Door Project in the USA.
Here are four areas on which we will be particularly focused:
- Identifying Catastrophic Regulatory Failure such as the Financial Conduct Authority’s handling of LCF and Connaught Income Series 1
- Identifying evidence of Regulatory Capture
- Tackling the Revolving Door problem
- Campaigning for better accountability, scrutiny, and oversight of the regulators; and celebrating related breakthroughs, such as Australia’s Financial Regulator Assessment Authority Bill.
Many scam victims have been battling for years to try to get the justice they deserve. In some cases, they have lost everything.
There have even been some that have paid the ultimate price for the activities of dishonest people that have tricked them out of their life savings and pension funds i.e. they have taken their own lives.
We are doing a huge amount of work in this space, actively looking for ways to help the public to be better protected from being scammed in the first place; and to provide them with more and better support if they have become a scam victim.
We believe this Group is needed because:
- There has been widespread malpractice, malfeasance, misconduct and miss-selling by people in and connected to the financial services sector
- There has also been a huge increase in the amount of scamming, fraud and financial crime taking place
- Those harmed often find it very difficult to get redress and justice
- The lack of an effective class/group action system in the UK represents a significant barrier to justice
- The lack of a support framework for victims makes a very bad situation even worse
We believe there is substantial value in bringing together those who have suffered and those that may be able to help.
A large, collective effort is needed to:
- Create an effective campaign approach to drive the much-needed reform of the system
- Constructively and confidently challenge “the establishment” including the regulators when it is appropriate to do so, with the intention of driving reform where needed
- Create the critical mass required to make the professional input needed from specialists including legal professionals, more economic and more efficient
- Enable the efficient and valuable sharing of intelligence and insight
- Ensure there is sufficient political support to drive through the many regulatory changes that are needed
- Be a representative collective voice for those that have been harmed
- Harness the vital support of the media.
The Foreign Exchange market is full of opacity that adversely affects consumers and institutional investors. Our FX Group published a constructive critique of the Global FX Code in July 2017, explaining why the Code doesn’t go far enough to make costs in FX sufficiently transparent. The White Paper drew acknowledgement and response from the Competition & Markets Authority and the Economic Secretary at HM Treasury. The Group continues to shine a light on the reforms needed to help create a fair, transparent, competitive and efficient FX market that delivers value for money to the individuals and institutions that use it.
Similarly, the Payments Sector is a remarkably important part of the financial ecosystem and it is in desperate need of reform to help ensure the consumer is being treated fairly.
Our members interested in Payments will:
- Help ensure consumers are not being adversely effected by hidden costs being applied to themselves or the retailers they make purchases through
- Highlight the importance of payments as a financial services product in its own right, as well as payments being a critical UK and global economic infrastructure
- Inform stakeholders of the major changes in the payments market, especially the replacement of cash with digital payment methods
- Share knowledge on major market and regulatory developments, such as Open Banking and the Revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2)
- Respond to strategic regulatory and policy initiatives, such as the UK future of cash review and EU payment card regulation review
Every Thursday
5:00PM to 6:00PM UK time
Frequently asked questions
No – our group meetings are free to attend.
No – you can be involved as much or as little as you want
We are always seeking to build consensus around our North Star Question which is “What is best for the consumer?”
No – we welcome and want a wide range of views; you’ll be free to “say it as you see it”
We have monthly Zoom meetings for some of our Groups that last just 1 hour, so it’s not too onerous at all. Furthermore, there is no need for you to make every meeting, just those that are convenient for you.
Other Group meetings will take place by special arrangement.
Each of the Groups has one or more campaign objective. If you want to be involved in helping to drive a particular campaign forward you can; but there is no compulsion to do so.
Yes you can. We would hope that as time went by you would want to participate in our activity but there is no compulsion for you to do so
Generally speaking we follow these steps; always building consensus through frank and open discussion as we go and always seeking to work together in a constructive, cooperative and collaborative manner:
- Step 1: We identify a part of the financial services sector that we believe could function in a better way for the consumer
Step 2: We reach out to people with subject-matter expertise in that particular part of the market who might be keen to work collaboratively with others to help improve the way that part of the market functions
Step 3: We organise and mobilise the volunteers into a solution-orientated Group
Step 4: We facilitate the development of the Group’s objectives and a pragmatic campaign strategy to achieve those objectives
Step 5: We liaise with relevent members of the press, regulators, parliamentarians, government officials, leading academics, thought leaders and so on to create supportive engagement, analysis and insight
Step 6: We implement the campaign strategy, which is normally a combination of activities such as research, producing White Papers, running Thought Leadership events, responding to consultations, holding meetings with key decision-makers and influencers, raising awareness through the press and so on
Step 7: We continue to facilitate the ongoing development of the Group’s work
Yes, of course!
Yes, please do. The TTF has grown by word of mouth so we would appreciate you doing whatever you can to let people you know have a chance to get involved. Please forward them a link to this web page so they can read about what we are doing and decide for themselves if they want to be included.
