The Financial Service Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has announced that it has helped around 68,000 customers with compensation claims or has enabled them to transfer to a new financial provider for their investment or insurance policy in the last year.

In the company’s annual accounts report and class statements for 2022/23, which outlined the work carried out by the schemein the past year, the FSCS stated that its total compensation costs were £403m, with the majority of claims relating to investment and pensions advice.

The organisation, which received 86% customer approval in 2022/23, also paid compensation to customers who had experienced losses from 563 authorised financial services, including 64 which were declared in default by the FSCS in 2022/23.

Overall, the FSCS investigated 430 firms to confirm their solvency status and to confirm whether any of their former customers would have eligible claims.

The organisation recovered a total of £15m, of which £12m was used to offset their levies. The remaining £3m was passed on to customers whose claims were above its compensation limits.

Chief financial officer at the FSCS, Fiona Kidy, said: “The past year has been dominated by the rising cost of living, which in turn has also led to a greater focus on people’s personal finances. In connection to this, there has also been a greater focus on the protection that FSCS and other organisations offer.

“Highlighting the importance of FSCS protection and our limits was the near insolvency of Silicon Valley Bank UK Ltd (SVB UK) at the end of the financial year. During March, our bank and savings protection checker received more than 100,000 checks in a single week. This is approximately four times the usual amount.

“Although FSCS ultimately did not need to step in, I’m very proud that my colleagues pulled out all the stops to ensure we were ready to help SVB UK’s customers.

“As ever, we look forward to the year ahead safe in the knowledge that we are prepared for any challenges that may arise. FSCS will continue to play an important role in building consumer trust and confidence in financial services.”

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