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* H2 2013 PPI complaints fall to 190,000 vs 266,000
* 'Big 4' banks, MBNA, account for 7 out of 10 cases
LONDON, March 4 (Reuters) - Britain's financial ombudsmansaid the number of complaints it received about the mis-sellingof loan insurance by banks and other financial services firmsfell in the second half of 2013.
The industry has already set aside over 20 billion pounds($33.5 billion) to compensate customers mis-sold paymentprotection insurance (PPI). The policies were meant to protectborrowers against sickness or unemployment but were often soldto those who did not want or need the cover.
The ombudsman, which deals with cases in which banks andtheir customers cannot settle a dispute, said it received190,000 complaints about PPI in the second half of 2013,compared with 266,000 in the first half.
But Chief Ombudsman Tony Boorman said the rate of complaintswas still "depressingly high".
"We're still a long way from being able to say that PPI issorted once and for all. Over 1,000 people every day are stillasking us to sort out PPI problems that they've not been able toresolve directly with their bank," he said.
The ombudsman said it took on a record 576,000 new cases intotal in 2013, up a third on the previous year. It found infavour of consumers in 51 percent of overall cases in the secondhalf and in 56 percent of cases relating to PPI.
The ombudsman said five financial services groups - RBS, Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays, HSBC and Bank of America's MBNA credit card unit -accounted for nearly seven out of ten new PPI cases in thesecond half.
