Hobbs says he has no 'issues' with Ifsra

Financial adviser and television presenter Eddie Hobbs has insisted that he has never broken the law and has had no "issues" with the financial regulator, Ifsra.

Mr Hobbs was responding to a report in the Sunday Times newspaper that Ifsra had received a complaint about him from disgraced financial adviser Tony Taylor.

Paddy McSwiney, the liquidator of Taylor's financial advisory group, has given files to Ifsra in relation to allegations made against Mr Hobbs.

The development is reported to have delayed Mr McSwiney's application to restrict four former directors of Mr Taylor's company, Taylor Asset Management, including Mr Hobbs.

Ifsra is believed to be seeking legal advice on the matter.

Mr Hobbs is authorised by the regulator to act as a financial adviser. He also sits on Ifsra's consumer panel, a grouping which advises the regulator on policy.

He was appointed today by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin, to a consumer body that will promote and protect consumer interests.

Mr Hobbs, who also presents RTÉ's Show Me The Money and has a financial advisory practice in Kildare, yesterday issued a statement accusing Mr Taylor of making a "vexatious" complaint about him to Ifsra.

He said: "As you can appreciate, I cannot ethically or professionally comment on the affairs of any former client publicly, but I can say with certainty that I have never acted unlawfully."

He went on to say : "The liquidator of Taylor Group companies appointed in 1996 has never expressed any concerns to me about my activities as a director and neither have I had any such issues with the financial regulator."

A spokesman for Ifsra said yesterday that while the regulator could not comment on individual investigations, it always investigates complaints fully.

Mr Hobbs ran a Taylor Group company until a few months before Mr Taylor left the Republic in 1996 leaving a number of clients out of pocket.

He was subsequently active in the process which saw Mr Taylor being brought back to the State to stand trial for fraud.

Mr Taylor was convicted of fraud in 2001 and imprisoned. He was freed just over a year ago.