Aegon says 'no damage' to brand following Nalbandian disqualification - Marketing
The financial services company signed a five-year deal with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) in 2008, believed to be worth around £25m a year.
As part of the commercial partnership, Aegon became the headline sponsor of the pre-Wimbledon tournament at Queen's Club in West London, which was renamed the Aegon Championships.
In yesterday's final, the crowd was left fuming after the referee ruled Nalbandian had to forfeit the match, mid-way through the encounter, because he injured an official.
The match was being televised live by the BBC.
Speaking to Marketing, Ian Murray, head of sponsorship and events at Aegon, said: "This is not bad news for us. Things happen in sport. What you have seen in the media is that this was the right decision [to disqualify Nalbandian].
"From a sponsor's point of view, I am disappointed about the final and it is not great for sports. But I don't think there is any damage to our brand."
Murray added that the incident would not have any impact on the LTA's sponsorship agreement with Aegon.
Follow John Reynolds on Twitter @johnreynolds10
Robshaw blow rocks England (From York Press) - The Press in York
Robshaw blow rocks England
6:32pm Monday 18th June 2012 in National Sport News © Press Association 2011
England have suffered a serious injury blow ahead of the third Test against South Africa with the loss of inspirational captain Chris Robshaw.
The 26-year-old flanker has been ruled out of Saturday's clash in Port Elizabeth after fracturing his right thumb. Robshaw took a bang to the hand in the first Test in Durban and thought it was bruising but had it assessed after suffering another painful blow in Saturday's second Test in Johannesburg.
His fears of a break have now been confirmed but head coach Stuart Lancaster has moved quickly to name hooker Dylan Hartley as replacement skipper.
Lancaster said: "We're devastated to hear the news. Chris has led us superbly in the last seven internationals and been one of our standout performers. But the medical advice is that he should not play and we have to trust that expert opinion.
"It is a blow but we have had one or two injuries along the way now and that is generally the nature of international rugby. It presents an opportunity for someone else.
"Dylan will take over as captain and is delighted to accept it. He has been part of a leadership group since the beginning of the tour and I'm sure he'll do a great job."
News of Robshaw's injury came a day after it was announced scrum-half Ben Youngs would also miss the third Test with a shoulder injury. Robshaw will stay in South Africa until the end of the tour but Youngs is to return home, following three other injured players in Mike Brown, George Lowe and Joe Launchbury.
Robshaw said: "I'm absolutely gutted. I've been very proud and honoured to lead this group during the Six Nations and on this tour and it's a difficult way to end the season."
Robshaw's withdrawal could clear the way for James Haskell to return to the senior England side for the first time since last year's World Cup.
The experienced back rower has only been included on the bench for the next match of the tour, against the Northern Barbarians in Potchefstroom, suggesting he is being kept fresh for Port Elizabeth.
U.S. watchdog puts credit card complaints online - Reuters UK
* Data will identify banks but not the consumer
* Bankers oppose identifying institutions
* Argue many complaints unjustified
By Dave Clarke
WASHINGTON, June 19 (Reuters) - The new U.S. consumer watchdog agency is launching a website on Tuesday where the public will be able to view complaints made by credit card customers against specific banks and other lenders.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said it is releasing the data to make the market for credit cards more transparent and so the public, researchers and the lending industry will have access to much of the data it receives from consumers.
"Each and every time we hear from American consumers about their troublesome transactions with financial products, it gives us important insight," CFPB Director Richard Cordray said in a statement. "The information helps us and it should be available to help others too."
The banking industry, however, has fought the idea of naming specific institutions in the public database, arguing that anyone with a gripe, legitimate or not, can tar the reputation of a card issuer by simply submitting a complaint to the agency.
Under the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial oversight law the CFPB is allowed to create public consumer complaints databases. The industry has argued that nothing in the law, however, requires it to publicly name the institution receiving the complaint.
"Why publish the amount of complaints against a specific company when there are many complaints that at the end of the day are not justified," Richard Hunt, president of the Consumer Bankers Association, said in an interview. "There is a significant chance of a reputational hit."
Hunt also said there is a concern that the agency will only release complaints related to the banks it oversees, which are those with more than $10 billion in assets. This could make large banks look like the bad actors in the industry, he said, even if only a small percentage of their customers are filing complaints.
When receiving a complaint the agency determines if the consumer actually has a card with the bank in question and also seeks to determine if the same customer is filing duplicate grievances, a senior CFPB official told reporters on Monday.
No information about the consumer will be included in the public database, the agency said.
The database will provide some information on how the lender responded to the complaint, such as whether the customer received any compensation from the card issuer.
The website will allow users to search the database in a variety of ways, including by card issuer name, type of complaint and zip code, the agency said.
When launched on Tuesday the database will at first only contain complaints received since June 1, about 100 records. The senior official said the plan is to add data received by the agency before that date later this year, after the website has been live for a few months.
The agency is considering creating similar public databases for other types of consumer complaints about financial products and on Tuesday it put out a request for input on what type of products should be considered.
Also on Tuesday, the agency released a "snapshot" of some of the consumer complaints it has received since opening its door on July 21, 2011.
For instance, the agency said it has received approximately 45,630 complaints overall and of these 16,840 concern credit cards. The agency receives the complaints in a variety of ways including through its website and by phone.
The agency said the most common type of complaints on credit cards are billing disputes. (Reporting By Dave Clarke; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)
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