The Securities Industry Dispute Resolution Center (SIDREC) and the Ombudsman for Financial Services (OFS) Malaysia are alternative dispute resolution centres established to assist the public should they need assistance in resolving a dispute with their respective financial service provider.

The formation of SIDREC was approved by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) to resolve disputes between investors and their capital market intermediaries, whereas OFS’ operation was approved by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to resolve disputes between financial consumers and financial service providers such as banks and insurance companies.

Both organisations share the same mandate in providing the respective industries of banking, insurance and investments with professional, independent and impartial alternative dispute resolution services. As SIDREC and OFS serve different market segments, here is a quick look at the differences between SIDREC & OFS.