The corporate regulator has approved changes to allow the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) to name the financial companies involved in consumer disputes.

The decision will allow consumers to access increased information about financial companies.

About 4500-5000 complaints are expected to be finalised each year by determinations. AFCA received 35,263 complaints in its first six months. Consumers will continue to be anonymous.

Chief Ombudsman and CEO David Locke says AFCA is committed to being open, transparent, and accountable to the public.

“AFCA plays an important role and we recognise that transparency in our data and decisions is essential to rebuilding trust in the financial sector,” he said.

Naming firms will help identify conduct or market problems within firms or affecting specific products or services, and highlight where firms have done the right thing, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission says.

AFCA will issue guidelines for when the name of a firm in a determination would not be published. This may include when naming the firm will expose confidential information about the company’s systems or policies.

It conducted a public consultation in May on the proposed changes.

The Insurance Council flagged its concerns earlier this year, saying that insurers with larger market share will be unfairly disadvantaged.

“The naming of insurers should be guided by relevant metrics and context,” spokesman Campbell Fuller told insuranceNEWS.com.au. “This would ensure dispute information is relevant to both consumers and industry.”